monastery
[ mon-uh-ster-ee ]
/ ˈmɒn əˌstɛr i /
noun, plural mon·as·ter·ies.
a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.
the community of persons living in such a place.
Origin of monastery
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin
monastērium < Late Greek
monastḗrion monk house, orig. hermit's cell, equivalent to
monas-, variant stem of
monázein to be alone (see
mon-) +
-tērion neuter adj. suffix denoting place
OTHER WORDS FROM monastery
mon·as·te·ri·al [mon-uh-steer-ee-uhl] /ˌmɒn əˈstɪər i əl/, adjectiveWords nearby monastery
monarthritis,
monarticular,
monas,
monash,
monaster,
monastery,
monastic,
monasticism,
monastral,
monathetosis,
monatomic
Example sentences from the Web for monastery
British Dictionary definitions for monastery
monastery
/ (ˈmɒnəstərɪ, -strɪ) /
noun plural -teries
the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows
Derived forms of monastery
monasterial (ˌmɒnəˈstɪərɪəl), adjectiveWord Origin for monastery
C15: from Church Latin
monastērium, from Late Greek
monastērion, from Greek
monázein to live alone, from
monos alone