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stylite

[ stahy-lahyt ]
/ ˈstaɪ laɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR stylite ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Ecclesiastical History.

one of a class of solitary ascetics who lived on the top of high pillars or columns.

Words related to stylite

recluse, solitary, misanthrope, skeptic, ascetic, solitaire, eremite, anchorite

Words nearby stylite

styling mousse, stylish, stylist, stylistic, stylistics, stylite, stylize, stylo-, stylobate, stylograph, stylographic

Origin of stylite

1630–40; < Late Greek stȳlī́tēs, equivalent to stŷl(os) pillar + -itēs -ite1

OTHER WORDS FROM stylite

sty·lit·ic [stahy-lit-ik] /staɪˈlɪt ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stylite

  • Simeon the Stylite comes down from his pillar-top, and chaffers in the market-place with common folks.

    Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3)|Theodore Parker

  • He stopped, some paces from the column, and began to examine the stylite, wiping his face meanwhile with the skirt of his toga.

    Thais|Anatole France

  • This old monk was St. Luke the Stylite, appearing in vision.

    Curiosities of Olden Times|S. Baring-Gould

  • A Stylite might have contented himself there; Gilliatt, more luxurious in his requirements, wanted something more commodious.

    Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for stylite

stylite
/ (ˈstaɪlaɪt) /

noun

Christianity one of a class of recluses who in ancient times lived on the top of high pillars

Derived forms of stylite

stylitic (staɪˈlɪtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for stylite

C17: from Late Greek stulitēs, from Greek stulos a pillar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012