hermit

[ hur-mit ]
/ ˈhɜr mɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR hermit ON THESAURUS.COM

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a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.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

Words nearby hermit

hermes trismegistus, hermetic, hermetically, hermeticism, hermione, hermit, hermit crab, hermit kingdom, hermit of st. augustine, hermit thrush, hermitage

Words related to hermitic

sheltered, reclusive, restricted, confined, hidden, withdrawn, insulated, recluse, cloistral, seclusive

British Dictionary definitions for hermitic

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