hermit

[ hur-mit ]
/ ˈhɜr mɪt /

noun

a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
any person living in seclusion; recluse.
Zoology. an animal of solitary habits.
Ornithology. any of numerous hummingbirds of the genera Glaucis and Phaethornis, having curved bills and dull-colored rather than iridescent plumage.
a spiced molasses cookie often containing raisins or nuts.
Obsolete. a beadsman.

Origin of hermit

1175–1225; Middle English ermite, hermite, heremite < Old French < Late Latin erēmīta < Greek erēmītḗs living in a desert, equivalent to erḗm(ia) desert (derivative of erêmos desolate) + -ītēs -ite1

OTHER WORDS FROM hermit

Example sentences from the Web for hermit

British Dictionary definitions for hermit

hermit
/ (ˈhɜːmɪt) /

noun

one of the early Christian recluses
any person living in solitude

Derived forms of hermit

hermitic or hermitical, adjective hermitically, adverb hermit-like, adjective

Word Origin for hermit

C13: from Old French hermite, from Late Latin erēmīta, from Greek erēmitēs living in the desert, from erēmia desert, from erēmos lonely