abbatial

en-adj

abbatial (comparative more abbatial, superlative most abbatial)

more abbatial (comparative)
most abbatial (superlative)

/ˈæˌbeɪ.ʃl̩/

From Middle English abbacyal, from Middle French abbatial, from Late Latin abbatialis, from abbatia (“abbey”) + -ialis (“-ial”).

Thus the abbatial succession came to be confined to members of the clan of the founder; and although originally the abbots were elected from the "founder's kin," and were distinct from those of the clan who possessed the abbatial lands, yet in process of time ecclesiastical line was merged in the secular, and both were united in one lay official, like the successors of St. Patrick at Armagh, who were the objects of St. Bernard's denunciations

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

Belonging to, relating to, or pertaining to an abbey, abbot, or abbess.


abbess

From Middle English abbesse, from Old French abeesse (French abbesse), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin abbatissa, feminine of Latin abbas, abbatis (“abbot”).

The abbess was always after the nuns to keep the convent immaculately clean.

A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks.


abbotship

From Middle English abboship, abbotshup; equivalent to abbot + -ship.

The state, term, or office of an abbot; abbacy.


abbacy

From Middle English abbathie, from Late Latin abbātia, from abbās, abbātis (“abbot”). Doublet of abbey and Opatija.

The dignity, estate, term, or jurisdiction of an abbot or abbess.

աբբայություն

dignity, estate, or jurisdiction of an abbot


abbot

Gullah: aabut

From Middle English abbot, abbod, abbed, from Old English abbat, abbad, abbod, from Latin abbās (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of abba, abbé, and bwana.

A layman who received the abbey's revenues, after the closing of the monasteries.


abbey

From A.D. 1250 in Middle English abbey, abbeye (“convent headed by an abbot”) (compare archaic English abbaye), itself borrowed from Old French abaïe, abbaïe, abeïe, abbeïe (Modern French abbaye) from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin abbātia, from Classical Latin abbās (“abbot”). Doublet of abbacy and Opatija. See abbot.

From 1199 to 1203 William Punchard was the abbot of the abbey of Rievaulx, which was part of the Cistercian order of monks.

A monastery or society of people, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy, which is headed by an abbot or abbess; also, the monastic building or buildings.


habit

en-noun

habit (countable and uncountable, plural habits)

From Middle English habit, from Latin habitus (“condition, bearing, state, appearance, dress, attire”), from habeō (“I have, hold, keep”). Replaced Middle English abit, from Old French abit, itself from the same Latin source. Displaced native Old English þēaw.

der

It’s become a habit of mine to have a cup of coffee after dinner.

a man of very shy, retired habits

1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], Tales of a Traveller, (please specify |part=1 to 4), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC:

Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:


sister

en-noun

sister (plural sisters or (archaic in most senses) sistren)

sisters (plural)
sistren (archaic plural)

desc

→ Gulf Arabic: سِسْتَر (sistar, “female nurse”)

→ Japanese: シスター (shisutā)

→ Korean: 시스터 (siseuteo)

PIE word
 *swésōr
From Middle English sister, suster, from Old English swustor, sweoster, sweostor (“sister, nun”); from Proto-Germanic *swestēr (“sister”), from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr (“sister”).
Cognate with Scots sister, syster (“sister”), West Frisian sus, suster (“sister”), Dutch zuster (“sister”), German Schwester (“sister”), Norwegian Bokmål søster (“sister”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish syster (“sister”), Icelandic systir (“sister”), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐍂 (swistar, “sister”), Latin soror (“sister”), Russian сестра́ (sestrá, “sister”), Lithuanian sesuo (“sister”), Albanian vajzë (“girl, maiden”), Sanskrit स्वसृ (svásṛ, “sister”), Persian خواهر (xâhar, “sister”).
In standard English, the form with i is due to contamination with Old Norse systir (“sister”).
The plural sistren is from Middle English sistren, a variant plural of sister, suster (“sister”); compare brethren.

妹妹

mui⁶⁻⁴ mui⁶⁻²

Michelle left behind her bank job and became a sister at the local convent.

A female member of a religious order; especially one devoted to more active service; (informal) a nun.

suster

a nun; a female member of a religious community

Connie was very close to her friend Judy and considered her to be her sister.

Sisters are doing it for themselves / Standing on their own two feet

1985, “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves”, in Who’s Zoomin' Who?, performed by Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin:

Any woman or girl with whom a bond is felt through the same biological sex, gender or common membership in a community, race, profession, religion, organization, or ism.

suster

any woman or girl with whom a bond is felt

abla

rude due to the implication of the woman being the older party

A fly sister rolled in with a suitcase full of hip-hop novels called The Glamorous Life, and an African brother with long dreads wanted to sell them some incense and some fake Jacob watches.

2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 169:

The short “naps” of the average Sister do not sway in the wind as that of a blonde.

2009, Rajen Persaud, Why Black Men Love White Women, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 171:

And now, social media has made it worse. From Facebook to Twitter, I get all kinds of invitations. Recently a sister inboxed me on Facebook and told me that she knew for a fact that I wanted her and she wanted me.

2014, J. L. King, Full Circle: Loving. Living. Life. After The Down Low:

(African-American Vernacular, slang, sometimes capitalized) A black woman.


brother

en-noun

brother (plural brothers or (archaic in most senses) brethren)

brothers (plural)
brethren (archaic plural)

Bahamian Creole: bredda

Belizean Creole: breda

Bislama: brata

Cameroon Pidgin: bro̱da

Gullah: broda

desctree

Hawaiian Creole: braddah
→ English: braddah

Islander Creole English: broda

Kabuverdianu: bróda

Krio: brohda

Nicaraguan Creole: brada

Nigerian Pidgin: broda

Pichinglis: brɔda

Pijin: brata

Saramaccan: baáa

Sranan Tongo: brada
→ Dutch: brada

Tok Pisin: brata, barata

→ Japanese: ブラザー

→ Korean: 브라더 (beuradeo)

→ Portuguese: brada (Mozambique), bróder (Brazil)

PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
Inherited from Middle English brother, from Old English brōþor, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Doublet of bhai, frater, friar, and pal.

弟弟

dai⁶⁻⁴ dai⁶⁻²

ağa

elder brother; in the northern dialect: aqa

ах дүү

brothers in general but including both elder and younger brothers

A male having at least one parent in common with another (see half-brother, stepbrother).


cell

From Middle English celle, selle, from Old English cell (attested in inflected forms), from Latin cella (“chamber, small room, compartment”), later reinforced by Old French cel, sele, Old French cele. ultimately from Proto-Italic *kelnā, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelneh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). Doublet of cella and hall.

der

intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell

melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cell

The upper right cell always starts with the color green.

Basically, I'm looking for a fast (the fastest?) way of updating grids, where each cell has to look at an arbitrary number of its neighbors.

1988 January 26, David Hiebeler, “Fast way to update grids”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):

It is used for land-use change simulations, where the content of the cells surrounding a central cell defines how this cell is going to evolve (for example, a cell that is "agriculture" but has 3 urban neighbors will likely become urban, while if it is surrounded by forest or other agriculture cells, it will remain agriculture.)

2010 March 10, Jean H., “What is CA for?”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):

I've seen this space colloqually referred to as MAP (presumably since it maps a 3x3 neighborhood into a future cell state)

2022 February 11, Mateon1, “Game of Life with real 8 neighbors”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):

(cellular automata) The minimal unit of a cellular automaton that can change state and has an associated behavior.


abbé

Unadapted borrowing from French abbé (“abbot”), from Latin abbās (“abbot”). Doublet of abbot.

ubor

(obsolete) A French abbot, the (male) head of an abbey.


monastery

From Middle English monasterie, from Old French monastere, from Medieval Latin monastērium (“monastery”), from Ancient Greek μοναστήριον (monastḗrion, “hermitage, monastery”), from μοναστήριος (monastḗrios, “alone, made alone”) + -ιον (-ion, “-ium”, suffix forming place names), from μονάζω (monázō, “to be alone”), from μόνος (mónos, “alone”) + -άζω (-ázō, verb-forming suffix). Doublet of minster.

der

A residence for monks or others who have taken religious vows.


monastic

en-adj

monastic (comparative more monastic, superlative most monastic)

more monastic (comparative)
most monastic (superlative)

From Middle French monastique, from Late Latin monasticus.

new monastic people

“Fear not that, Edward,” exclaimed Halbert, who never gave his brother his monastic name of Ambrosius; “none obey the command of real duty so well as those who are free from the observance of slavish bondage.”

1820, [Walter Scott], chapter XV, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, page 344:


minor

From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.

byvak

subject of secondary undergraduate study

(music) Ellipsis of minor interval, scale, mode, key, chord, triad, etc.

And so musten oure clerkis argue whan þai aleggen for her lordeschip þe lyuynge of her patrons & sayntis, & sayen þus: "Seynt thomas & seynt hwe & seynt Swiþune wer þus lordis, & in þis þai suyd cristis lyuynge & his lore; þerfor we may lefulli be þus lordis." And I wote wel þat gabriel schal blow his horne or þai han preuyd þe mynor; þat is, þat þes seyntes or patrons in þis suyden þe lore or þe life of ihesu criste.

c. 1450, anonymous author, The Clergy May Not Hold Property, page 31:

(logic) Ellipsis of minor term or minor premise.

Many find it easier to remember 20 for Minors, 30 for Majors and 35 for No Trump.

1927, Milton Cooper Work, Contract Bridge, page 11:

(bridge) Ellipsis of minor suit; a card of a minor suit.


frater

PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
Learned borrowing from Latin frāter (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, friar, and pal.


monasticism

en-noun

monasticism (countable and uncountable, plural monasticisms)

From monastic (“relating to monks”) + -ism.

(religion) The practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work.


nunnery

From Middle English nonnery, nonnerie, equivalent to nun + -ery.

Get thee to a nunnery, why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

(chiefly Christianity) The residence of a female religious community, a monastery for nuns.

دَيْر

لِلرَّاهِبَات


monk

From Middle English monk, from Old English munuc, from Proto-West Germanic *munik, from Late Latin monicus, variant of monachus, from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós, “single, solitary”), from μόνος (mónos, “alone”).

der

A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthosternos.


nun

From Middle English nonne, nunne, from Old English nunne (“nun”), from Late Latin nonna (“nun, tutor”), originally (along with masculine form nonnus (“man”)) a term of address for elderly persons, perhaps from children's speech, reminiscent of nana, like papa etc. Doublet of nonna.

onomatopoeic

children's speech

Thus, when the nuns came to the mission and we saw that instead of murmuring soft blessings and gliding seraphically over the grass in diaphanous habits, they wore smart blouses and skirts and walked, laughed and talked in low twanging tones very much like our own American missionaries did, we were very disappointed.

1988, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, Faber & Faber Limited (2021), page 258:

A member of a Christian religious community of women who live by certain vows and usually wear a habit, (Roman Catholicism, specifically) those living together in a cloister.

non

member of a non-Christian religious community of women


friary

en-adj

friary (comparative more friary, superlative most friary)

more friary (comparative)
most friary (superlative)

From friar (“brother”) in a religious order, from Latin frater (“brother”), from Latin.

Saint Francis with his Friery kowle in a corne-field.

1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC:

Like a friar; relating to friars or to a convent.

mönchisch

like a friar; relating to friars or to a convent


hermitage

/ˈhɜːmɪtɪd͡ʒ/

/ˈhɝmɪtɪd͡ʒ/

From Middle English hermytage, ermitage, from Old French ermitage, hermitaige, from Medieval Latin hermitagium. By surface analysis, hermit + -age.

I saw the huge rocking-stone, that had been violently depressed by him as he sprang, fly back when relieved of his weight till, for the first time during all these centuries, it got beyond its balance, fell with a most awful crash right into the rocky chamber which had once served the philosopher Noot for a hermitage, and, I have no doubt, for ever sealed the passage that leads to the Place of Life with some hundreds of tons of rock.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

A house or dwelling where a hermit lives.

Temptation is an obsequious servant that has no objection to the country, and we know that it takes up its lodging in hermitages as well as in cities; and that in the most remote and inaccessible desert it keeps company with the fugitive solitary.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 28, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:


friar

PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
From Middle English frere, from Old French frere, from Latin frāter (“brother”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, frater, and pal.

doublet

A member of a mendicant Christian order such as the Augustinians, Carmelites (white friars), Franciscans (grey friars) or the Dominicans (black friars).


archabbot

(ecclesiastical) In certain Catholic (notably Benedictine) congregations, the title of the general superior, ranking above all other abbots, vested in a particular abbey, which hence is called an archabbey (usually its motherhouse, such as Beuron, which gave its name to a Benedictine congregation).

aartsabt

the title of the general superior in certain Catholic congregations


cenobite

From Old French cenobite or Ecclesiastical Latin coenobīta, from coenobium, from Ancient Greek κοινόβιον (koinóbion, “community life, convent”), from κοινός (koinós, “common”) + βίος (bíos, “life”).

der

Lamprecht knew very well how the war was going and was perfunctory in his rounding up of Jews and cenobites.

1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers, page 418:

A new or recent member of a Greek monastic religious order; a caloyer.


prior

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin prior (“earlier, former, previous, prior; in front; (figurative) better, superior”), from Proto-Italic *priōs (“earlier, previous”, literally “more before”), ultimately from *pri (“before”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pró (“leading to, toward”) and its etymon *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-jōs (suffix forming comparative adjectives). Doublet of before, fore, and former.
The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.

der

His prior residence was smaller than his current one.

I had no prior knowledge you were coming.

Since therefore 'tis poſſible for all objects to become cauſes or effects to each other, it may be proper to fix ſome general rules, by vvhich vve may knovv vvhen they really are ſo. […] 2. The cauſe must be prior to the effect.

1739, [David Hume], “Rules by which to Judge of Causes and Effects”, in A Treatise of Human Nature: […], book I (Of the Understanding), London: […] John Noon, […], →OCLC, part III (Of Knowledge and Probability), pages 303–304:

Lady Marney, duly warned of the impending catastrophe, was experiencing all the advantages of prior information.

1845, B[enjamin] Disraeli, chapter VI, in Sybil; or The Two Nations. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, book I, page 83:

"As these busts in the block of marble," though Miriam, "so does our individual fate exist in the limestone of time. We fancy that we carve it out; but its ultimate shape is prior to all our action."

1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “A Sculptor’s Studio”, in The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni. […], volume I, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, pages 148–149:

These reconstructions took place with so great ease and rapidity at Abbeville, […] that there is now scarce vestige left of any building prior to the fifteenth century.

1886, John Ruskin, “Rome”, in Præterita. Outlines of Scenes and Thoughts Perhaps Worthy of Memory in My Past Life, volume I, Orpington, Kent: George Allen, →OCLC, page 280:

[T]he Mayor, […] seemed to have schooled himself into a course of strict mechanical rightness towards this woman of prior claim, at any expense to the later one, and to his own sentiments.

1886 May, Thomas Hardy, chapter XIII, in The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 152:

Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.

предишен

coming before in importance, order, or time — see also earlier, former, previous


prior

en-adv

prior (comparative more prior, superlative most prior)

more prior (comparative)
most prior (superlative)

The doctor had known three months prior.

From the opening shots of the anonymous young Winterfell boy rushing to catch a glimpse of Jon Snow and Queen Daenerys Targaryen, hearkening back to those moments of the very first episode in which Arya rushed to do the same with an approaching King Robert Baratheon, the series is calling back to its beginning, suggesting (at least for now) that the wheel continues to turn, sending us back into a pattern begun seven seasons prior.

2019 April 14, Alex McLevy, “Winter is Here on Game of Thrones’ Final Season Premiere (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-12-18:

Chiefly followed by to: in advance, before, previously.


prior

From Middle English priour, prior (“head or deputy head of a monastery or other religious house; predecessor; superior”), from Old English prior, from Anglo-Norman priour, prior, priur, and Old French prior, priur (modern French prieur), and directly from their etymon Latin prior (“ancestor; predecessor”) (whence Late Latin prior (“superior of a religious house or order; abbot; deputy abbot; head of a guild”)), a noun use of prior (“former, previous, prior”, adjective): see etymology 1.

cog

(abbot’s deputy):

It is not yet an hundred yere a goe, ſince that ſame mayſter doctour was butler in the ſame houſe, whereof I was maiſter and praiour: […]

1532, Thomas More, “The Confutacion of [William] Tyndale’s Aunswere […]. The Eyght Booke in which is Confuted Doctour [Robert] Barnes Church.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, page 791, column 1:

(Christianity) A high-ranking member of a religious house or religious order.

In an abbey, the person ranking just after the abbot, appointed as his deputy; a prior claustral.

прыёр

in an abbey, the person ranking just after the abbot, appointed as his deputy


religious

en-noun

religious (plural religious or religiouses)

/ɹɪ.ˈlɪd͡ʒ.əs/

From Middle English religiouse, religious, religius, religeous, from Anglo-Norman religieus, religius, from Old French religious, religieux, and their source, Latin religiōsus (“religious, superstitious, conscientious”), from religiō. Doublet of religieux.

der

Towards the end of the seventh century the monks of Fleury [...] clandestinely excavated the body of Benedict himself, plus the corpse of his even more shadowy sister and fellow religious, Scholastica.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 354:

A member of a religious order or congregation, i.e. a monk, nun, sister, brother, friar, or religious priest.


oblate

From French oblat and its source, post-classical Latin oblātus (“person dedicated to religious life”), a nominal use of the past participle of offerō (“I offer”).

(Roman Catholicism) A person dedicated to a life of religion or monasticism, especially a member of an order without religious vows or a lay member of a religious community.

2007, The Venerable Bede started as an oblate at St Paul's, Jarrow, but by the time of his death in 735 was surely the most learned man in Europe. — Tom Shippey, ‘I Lerne Song’, London Review of Books 29:4, p. 19

A child given up by its parents into the keeping or dedication of a religious order or house.


oblate

en-adj

oblate (comparative more oblate, superlative most oblate)

more oblate (comparative)
most oblate (superlative)

From Late Latin oblātus, from Latin ob (“in front of, before”) + lātus (“broad, wide”), (modeled after prōlātus (“extended, lengthened”)).

The Earth is an oblate spheroid.

Why should I not speak to him or to any human being who walks upright upon this oblate orange?

1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

’Tis prolate, still,’ with a long dejected Geordie O. ‘Isn’t it…?’ ‘I’m an Astronomer,– trust me, ’tis gone well to oblate.’

1997, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 39, in Mason & Dixon, 1st US edition, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, part Two: America, page 392:


schema

Unadapted borrowing from Latin schēma, from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “form, shape”). Doublet of scheme.

der

(Christianity) A monastic habit in the Greek Orthodox Church.


claustration

en-noun

claustration (countable and uncountable, plural claustrations)

Shutting up or enclosing, usually in a religious cloister.


archimandrite

/ˌɑːkɪˈmændɹaɪt/

Borrowed from French archimandrite, from Latin archimandrīta, from late Ancient Greek ἀρχιμανδρίτης (arkhimandrítēs), from ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “highest”) + μάνδρα (mándra, “enclosure, cloister, monastery”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, “member of”).

uder

ἀρχιμανδρίτης

(Eastern Orthodoxy, rarely Catholicism) An honorary title sometimes given to a monastic priest.


cloister

Recorded since about 1300 as Middle English cloistre, borrowed from Old French cloistre, clostre, or via Old English clauster, both from Medieval Latin claustrum (“portion of monastery closed off to laity”), from Latin claustrum (“place shut in, bar, bolt, enclosure”), a derivation of the past participle of claudere (“to close”). Doublet of claustrum.

der

A covered walk with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that face a quadrangle; especially:

such an arcade fitted with representations of the stages of Christ's Passion.


cloister

en-verb

cloister (third-person singular simple present cloisters, present participle cloistering, simple past and past participle cloistered)

cloisters (present singular third-person)
cloistering (participle present)
cloistered (participle past)
cloistered (past)

(intransitive) To become a Roman Catholic religious.


refectory

Via Middle English refectori from Late Latin refectorium, from Latin reficere (“to remake, to rebuild”).

der

They compare very well with similar cafes elsewhere and the quality, for example, is far better and the price cheaper than in my college refectory.

1964 April, “Letters: London stations—a consumers' guide”, in Modern Railways, page 274:

With a clattering of chairs, upended shell cases, benches, and ottomans, Pirate's mob gather at the shores of the great refectory table, a southern island well across a tropic or two from chill Croydon.

1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:

A dining hall, especially in an institution such as a college or monastery.


convent

From Middle English convent, variant of covent, from Old French covent, from Latin conventus, perfect participle of the verb convenio (whence ultimately convene), see con- + venio. Doublet of coven.

A gathering of people lasting several days for the purpose of discussing or working on topics previously selected.


bonze

From French bonze, from Portuguese bonzo, from Japanese 凡僧 (bonzō), from Middle Chinese 凡 (bɨɐm, “ordinary”) + 僧 (səŋ, “Buddhist monk”).


bhikkhu

Transliteration of Pali bhikkhu (“beggar, Buddhist monk”), from Sanskrit भिक्षु (bhikṣu, “mendicant”).

translit

A male Buddhist monk or priest; one who follows all Buddhist precepts as a full member of the sangha.


Capuchin

Borrowed from Middle French capuchin (“Capuchin friar”), from Italian cappuccino (“Capuchin friar”), from cappuccio (“hood, cowl”).

bor

A member of an order of Roman Catholic friars.


laura

From the Late Latin laura, from Ancient Greek λαύρα (laúra, “lane, path”).

der

The solitaries of the Thebaid found that they became selfish wild beasts, or went mad, if they remained alone; and they formed themselves into lauras, 'lanes' of huts, convents, under a common abbot or father.

1864, Charles Kingsley, Lecture IX: The Monk a Civilizer: The Roman and the Teuton: A Series of Lectures Delivered Before the University of Cambridge, page 240:

(historical, Roman Catholicism) A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior


prioress

From Middle English prieresse, priorasse, priores, prioresse, priorisse, priouresse, priures, priuresse, prowres, pryoras, pryorys, pryowresse, from Medieval Latin priōrissa and Old French prioresse, prieuresse; equivalent to prior + -ess.

A nun in charge of a priory (usually lower in rank than an abbess); mother superior.


Trappist

From French trappiste, from La Trappe Abbey, the monastery where the order was originated.

A monk or nun of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (a branch of the Cistercians Roman Catholic religious brotherhood that use a particularly strict interpretation of the Rule of St Benedict).

trappist

a monk or nun of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance


conventual

en-adj

conventual (comparative more conventual, superlative most conventual)

more conventual (comparative)
most conventual (superlative)

From Medieval Latin conventuālis, from Latin conventus (“convent”).

The noise of her steps, light as they were, attracted the stranger's notice, who, turning round and letting her mantle fall as she did so, showed a tall and stately figure, dressed in what appeared to be some conventual costume.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Disclosure”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 304:

The Sunday Times has convinced me I ought to immediately start out on a new regime of positively conventual austerity in order to reduce the burden on a strained NHS by not forcing them to have to cope with my ling cancer or coronary.

1976, Angela Carter, “Health on the Brain”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 82:

The Breton Club resumed its meetings in the refectory of an empty conventual building in the rue Saint-Jacques.

1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 267:

Pertaining to a convent or convent life; cloistered, monastic.


scapular

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-scapular.wav

From Latin scapulāre, from Latin scapula (“shoulder”). Compare scapulary.

A scapular, or friar's coat, for example, was a coveted object to be worn as a preservative against pestilence or the ague […]

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 30:

She granted the Whitefriars identical powers to the Blackfriars, to bless a part of their friar's habit which draped over their shoulders and was known as the scapular; now laity could wear it and derive spiritual privileges from it.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 409:

(Christianity) A short cloak worn around the shoulders, adopted as part of the uniform of various religious orders, later often with an embroidered image of a saint.

escapulari

a short cloak with an embroidered image of a saint

(ornithology) One of a special group of feathers which arise from each of the scapular regions and lie along the sides of the back.

A bandage passing over the shoulder to support it, or to retain another bandage in place.

(Christianity) A devotional object, typically consisting of two rectangular pieces of cloth (often with an embroidered image or text) joined with cloth bands and worn with one piece over the chest and one in the back.


coenobite

The killing resounded around the world but above all in St Petersburg and Paris: the aggressive confidence of the coenobite brawlers reflected not just the religions but the empires behind them.

2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East, page 409:


Clare

The anglicized spelling of Irish Clár, from Old Irish clár (“plank, board”), from Proto-Celtic *klāros, *klārom (“table”).

A district municipality in Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada, named after County Clare.

A number of places in the United States, likely to be named after County Clare:

A city mostly in Clare County, Michigan; after its county and County Clare.

Clare and Gilbert Valleys
Clare and Gilbert Valleys#English

A town in Clare and Gilbert Valleys council area, Mid North region, South Australia.


ashram

The entire ashram was excited.

In our broken culture those who have experienced the training of the yogic ashram are often woefully ignorant in the ways of the university, and vice versa.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 219:

(Hinduism) A secluded religious hermitage inhabited by gurus, or the population of such a hermitage.

Aschram

a secluded religious hermitage inhabited by gurus


novitiate

From Middle French novitiat, from Medieval Latin novitiatus (“a novitiate”), from Latin novicius, novitius (“a novice”), from novus (“new”).

Three weeks after the departure of the Mandevilles, all Naples flocked to witness the profession of a young Englishwoman, a dispensation having been obtained for the novitiate.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter X, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 214:

The period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training.

noviciaat

the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training


Hieronymite

A member of any of various mediaeval congregations of hermits named after St. Jerome.


Franciscan

From Medieval Latin Franciscānus, from Franciscus + -ānus (“-an”).

(Catholicism) A member of the Order of the Friars Minor.


Carthusian

/kɑːˈθjuːzɪən/

From Medieval Latin Carthusianus, from Cart(h)usia, Latinization of Old French Chartrouse, a region near Grenoble where the order was founded, now Chartreuse; from Late Latin Catorissium, Cantourisa, Caturissium, Chatrousse, probably ultimately from Gaulish *Katurīx (literally “battle-king”). Also see Caturix, Helvetian war god.

der

A pupil of Charterhouse School (founded in a Carthusian monastery)


hiero-

From Ancient Greek prefix ἱερο- (hiero-), from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred, holy”).


gyrovague

From Medieval Latin gȳrovagus (“wandering aimlessly”).

(obsolete) A wandering monk having no fixed monastery, as exemplified in the Rule of St. Benedict.


Clarissa

Clarissa
Clarissa (novel)
Samuel Richardson

Borrowed from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more. Popularized in English by Samuel Richardson's 1748 novel Clarissa. Doublet of Clarisse.

Following Francis' example, Clare founded an order of religious women known as the Poor Ladies of Assisi (like Francis' Poor Men), and later as the Clarissas or Poor Clares in her honor.

1991, Thomas Head, “Clare of Assisi”, in An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers:

In the protomonastero of Santa Chiara in Assisi, erected from the outset for the Clarissas, however, equally frequent changes and modifications in the location of the nuns' choir suggest that there were still uncertainties as to the best place for it.

1992, Caroline A. Bruzelius, “Hearing Is Believing: Clarissan Architecture, ca. 1213–1340”, in Gesta, volume 31, number 2, page 85:

The rule of Urban IV also clarified the nomenclature of the Clarissas, with the pope designating the group as the Order of St. Claire rather than Poor Ladies, or Poor Recluses, of San Damiano.

1995, Caroline A. Bruzelius, “Queen Sancia of Mallorca and the Convent Church of Sta. Chiara in Naples”, in Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, volume 40, page 75:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


tonsure

From Middle English tonsure, from Anglo-Norman and Old French tonsure, from Latin tonsūra (“a clipping, trimming”), from tondeō (“shear, clip, trim”).

The hairstyle and characteristic bald patch resulting from being tonsured.


religieuse

A type of eclair made of two choux pastry cases, the smaller fixed atop of the other.


ribat

(Islam, figurative) The duty of all Muslims to defend and/or retake Islamic lands.


Franciscans

Order of Friars Minor
Order of Friars Minor#English

(Catholicism) Synonym of Order of Friars Minor: the religious order of friars founded by St Francis of Assisi.


mother superior

en-noun

mother superior (plural mothers superior or mother superiors)

mothers superior (plural)
mother superiors (plural)

A nun in charge of a priory or convent; either a prioress or an abbess.


Benedictine

From French bénédictin, from Latin benedictus, named after Italian 6th century Saint Benedict of Nursia (Latin: Benedictus Nursiae). Recorded in English from the 17th century.

A monk or nun belonging to the order founded by Saint Benedict of Nursia.

A type of liqueur originating from the Benedictine cloister of Fécamp in France, made from cognac together with herb and spice extracts.


Benedictine

Of or pertaining to St. Benedict of Nursia.

բենեդիկտյան

of or pertaining to St. Benedict of Nursia

Of or pertaining to the Benedictine Order.

բենեդիկտյան

of or pertaining to the Benedictine Order


black friar

Named from the black mantles that they wore over white woollen habits.

A member of the religious order of the Dominicans.

доминиканец

a member of the religious order of the Dominicans


cloistral

en-adj

cloistral (comparative more cloistral, superlative most cloistral)

more cloistral (comparative)
most cloistral (superlative)

Ultimately from Latin claustrālis (“of the cloister”), probably via Middle French cloistral. Doublet of claustral

1606, Samuel Daniel, The Queen’s Arcadia, in The Poetical Works of Mr. Samuel Daniel, London: R. Gosling, 1717, The Epistle, pp. 151-152,
… it is in that Kind [of Words], as best accords
With rural Passions, which use not to reach
Beyond the Groves, and Woods, where they were bred
And best become a Cloistral Exercise,
Where Men shut out retir’d, and sequestred
From publick Fashion, seem to sympathize
With innocent and plain Simplicity:

1766, Thomas Amory, The Life of John Buncle: Esq., London: J. Johnson and B. Davenport, Volume 2, Section 3, p. 56,
As to the marriage of the friars in this cloystral house, their founder, Ivon, in my opinion, was quite right in this notion.

Coming straight from the convent, she had gone in behind the high walls of the manor-house that was almost more cloistral than any convent could have been.

1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter II, in The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, →OCLC; republished Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, 1972 (1982 printing), →ISBN, part III, page 126:

[T]he three men followed, rushing into the hall, pausing, bringing with them into its stale and cloistral dimness something of the savage summer sunlight which they had just left.

1932, William Faulkner, chapter 19, in Light in August, [New York, N.Y.]: Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, →OCLC; republished London: Chatto & Windus, 1933, →OCLC, page 438:

Of, pertaining to, resembling or living in a cloister.

klášterní

of, pertaining to, or living in a cloister


cenobitic

cenobitic (comparative more cenobitic, superlative most cenobitic)

more cenobitic (comparative)
most cenobitic (superlative)


Cistercian

Cistercian (comparative more Cistercian, superlative most Cistercian)

more Cistercian (comparative)
most Cistercian (superlative)

From French cistercien, from Latin Cistercium (“Cîteaux”), after the place where the order was founded.

Of, pertaining to or characteristic of the Cistercian Order and its members.


monastically

en-adv

monastically (comparative more monastically, superlative most monastically)

more monastically (comparative)
most monastically (superlative)


minster

From Middle English menstre (see mynisterie), from Old English mynster, from Latin monastērium (“monastery”), from Ancient Greek μοναστήριον (monastḗrion, “monastery; solitary dwelling”). Doublet of monastery.

derived

A cathedral church without any monastic connection.


postulant

From French postulant, present participle of postuler.

After their six-month postulancies are over and they have mastered all the chants and books of monastic regulations, the postulants are finally ready to ordain as novice monks […]

2020, Robert E. Buswell Jr., The Zen Monastic Experience, page 81:

(religion) A person seeking admission to a religious order.


Chartreux

Borrowed from French Chartreux. Compare chartreuse.

A member of a breed of large, blue, short-haired domestic cats, originating in France.


monkhood

en-noun

monkhood (usually uncountable, plural monkhoods)

Do these two images represent the two competing monkhoods: the village dwelling monks and the forest mendicants?

2014, Geok Goh, The Wheel-Turner and His House: Kingship in a Buddhist Ecumene, page 116:


religieux

Borrowed from French religieux. Doublet of religious.

(historical) A man bound by monastic vows; a monk.


Clarisse

Borrowed from French Clarisse, from Italian Clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa (“Poor Clare”); see there for more. Doublet of Clarissa and Clarice.

Clara... withdrew herself... to the Church of St. Damian, and there gave beginning to the poor Maids, called from her name Clarisses...

1693, Gabriel d'Emillianne, translated by Antonio Gavin, A Short History of Monastical Orders, page 253:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare, sometimes particularly such a nun who followed the original rules of Saint Clare of Assisi.


OFM

Haymo of Faversham, O.F.M.

John Duns Scotus ofm

Massimo Fusarelli, ofm

Ordo Fratrum Minorem
Ordo Fratrum Minorem

(Catholicism) Initialism of Order of Friars Minor or Ordo Fratrum Minorem, the Franciscans, a religious order of mendicant friars.


hieromonk

From Byzantine Greek ἱερομόναχος (hieromónakhos), from Ancient Greek ἱερός (hierós) + μοναχός (monakhós).

der

A peculiar and important rank in the Armenian hierarchy, conferred by a sort of ordination rite, is that of vartapet. He is a hieromonk or widowed priest of superior learning and ability, especially authorized to preach and teach.

1961, Donald Attwater, The Christian Churches of the East, new edition, volume 2 (Churches not in Communion with Rome), Leominster, Herefordshire: Thomas More Books, →OCLC, page 227:

A monk of the Eastern Church who is also a priest.


skete

From ecclesiastical (medieval) Ancient Greek σκήτη (skḗtē), which is either from a place name in Egypt Σκήτις, Coptic Ϣⲓϩⲏⲧ (Šihēt), or via aphesis from ἀσκητής (askētḗs, “ascetic; monk, hermit”).


archabbey

(ecclesiastical) An abbey which is the seat of an archabbot (high monastic rank within an order or congregation)


charterhouse

From French chartreuse, reanalysed as a compound of charter + house. Doublet of chartreuse.


Sarabaite

From Ecclesiastical Latin sarabaita, possibly from Coptic ⲥⲁ (sa) + ⲣⲁⲩⲏ (rauē) or Coptic ⲥⲁ (sa) + ⲣⲁ (ra) + ⲁⲩⲏⲧ (auēt). Compare with ⲥⲁⲣⲁⲕⲱⲧⲉ (sarakōte).

(historical) A class of monk in Catholic belief who dwelt in his own home, or in or near a city.


clas

From Welsh clas, from Middle Welsh clas, from Proto-Brythonic *klas, from Latin classis. Doublet of class and classis.


semantron

en-noun

semantron (plural semantrons or semantra)

From Ancient Greek σήμαντρον (sḗmantron, “a seal, signet, in MGr. a semantron”), from σημαίνειν (sēmaínein, “to show by a sign, signify, in MGr. strike a semantron”), from σῆμα (sêma, “mark, sign”).

uder

A percussion instrument used chiefly in Eastern Orthodox monasteries to summon the brethren to prayer or to lead processions.


keeill

Borrowed from Manx keeill. Doublet of cell.

The division into sheadings and into (early secular) parishes is shown in Plate II with the sites of incised or engraved stones and of those keeills beside which graveyards have been identified.

1958, Annie Ashley, The Church in the Isle of Man, number 13, page 8:

The local place-name 'Chapel Gate' — 'the road to the Chapel' — is of some antiquity (J. J. Kneen, Place-Names, I, p. 22) and applies particularly to the steep pathway down the brooghs to the keeill-site and well at the west end of 'Chapel Bay'.

1966, in the Report of the Manx Archaeological Survey, volume 6, page 61

(chiefly Isle of Man, historical) A small monastic cell or chapel (especially during the pre-modern period).


monachism

en-noun

monachism (countable and uncountable, plural monachisms)

From Late Latin monachus (“monk”) + -ism.

That wealth and splendour have not the charms that you ascribe to them with the bulk of mankind, is evident even from the history of Monachism, one of the corruptions of christianity.

1791, Joseph Priestley, Letters to Burke, section VI:


claustral

en-adj

claustral (comparative more claustral, superlative most claustral)

more claustral (comparative)
most claustral (superlative)

Based on Latin claustrum (“cloister”). Doublet of cloistral.

(anatomy) Relating to the claustrum of the brain.


Paulist

A member of various religious orders associated with either of the saints Paul of Thebes and Paul of Tarsus.

paŭlano

a member of the religious order associated with Paul of Thebes, the First Hermit


monial

From Anglo-Norman monyale, Middle French monyalle, or their source, Late Latin monialis.

For the first time since I had glimpsed her across the crowded ballroom I understood how I could have mistaken her for a monial of the order whose habit she wore.

1982, Gene Wolfe, chapter VII, in The Sword of the Lictor (The Book of the New Sun; 3), New York: Timescape, →ISBN, page 49:

(Christianity, now rare) A nun, especially one dedicated to an enclosed order.


minch

From Middle English mynche, a reduced form of minchen, monchen, from Old English myneċen (“a female monk, nun”), from Proto-Germanic *munikinnō (“female monk”), from *munikaz (“monk”), from Late Latin monachus (“monk”), from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós, “hermit”, noun), from μοναχός (monakhós, “single, solitary”, adjective), from μόνος (mónos, “alone”), from Proto-Indo-European *men-, *menw-, *manw- (“small, little, isolated”). Cognate with German Mönchin (“female monk”). Related also to minnow. More at monk.


minch

en-verb

minch (third-person singular simple present minches, present participle minching, simple past and past participle minched)

minches (present singular third-person)
minching (participle present)
minched (participle past)
minched (past)

From Middle English menchen, a variant of mincen. More at mince.


hegumen

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ἡγούμενος (hēgoúmenos, “leader”).

der

From 1517 to 1637 a total of 19 Kirillov hegumens were transferred to other influential positions, and nine of them were raised to episcopal seats.

2015, Ines Angeli Murzaku, Monasticism in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics:

Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

(Christianity) The head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches.


cloistress

Like a cloistress she will veiled walk.

c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:


monkly

en-adj

monkly (comparative more monkly, superlative most monkly)

more monkly (comparative)
most monkly (superlative)

monkly habits

monkly haircut


priorship

en-noun

priorship (countable and uncountable, plural priorships)

The state or office of prior; a priorate.


coenobium

coenobium (plural coenobiums or coenobia)

Learned borrowing from Late Latin coenobium (“cloister, convent; monastery”), from Koine Greek κοινόβιον (koinóbion, “life in community; monastery”), the neuter form of κοινόβιος (koinóbios, “communal living”), from Ancient Greek κοινός (koinós, “common, shared”) + βίος (bíos, “life”). Doublet of coenoby.
The plural form coenobia is borrowed from Late Latin coenobia.

der

The Radiolaria are marine rhizopods, whose unicellular body always consists of two parts,— […] The individuals are usually single: in only a small minority are the unicellular organisms united in colonies or caenobia.

1887 June 17, “Challenger Report”, in Science.—Supplement, volume IX, number 228, New York, N.Y.: The Science Company, →OCLC, page 596, column 2:

eutely Phenomenon exhibited by a few phyla, notably nematodes, where all individuals have the same number of cells (or nuclei in a coenobium).

2007, “eutely”, in J. M. Lackie, editor, The Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology, 4th edition, Burlington, Mass.: Academic Press, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 151, column 1:

(zoology) A colony of unicellular organisms (such as protozoa) which acts as a single organism.

kenobio

colony of unicellular organisms which acts as a single organism


Black Monk

A Benedictine monk, one of the Order of Saint Benedict.


cloisterer

From Middle English cloystrer, cloysterer, from Old French cloistrier; equivalent to cloister + -er; compare Old French cloistier.

One belonging to, or living in, a cloister; a recluse.


Minorite

From Medieval Latin Minorita, from Latin minor + -īta (“-ite”), from Ordo Fratres Minores (“Order of Friars Minor”), literally the "Order of the Lesser Brothers", chosen by St. Francis to inculcate humility in its members. Equivalent to minor + -ite. Doublet of minister.

Minores or Minorites descende from the aforesayd Barefootes, which be also vnder the rule and clothynge of S. Frauncisce.

1537, Anonymous, Original & Sprynge of All Sectes & Orders..., sig, C5v

Order of Friars Minor
Order of Friars Minor

(Catholicism) Synonym of Franciscan: a friar of the Order of Friars Minor.


cenobitism

The baides in which the early christians took refuge in the ages of cenobitism or of persecution

1837, Alphonse de Lamartine, translated by Robert Huish, Travels in the Holy Land:

The state of being a cenobite; the belief or practice of a cenobite.


Cluniac

[…] maximism of the Cluniacs on the one hand and the minimism of puritanic Cistercianism on the other.

1918, Edmund Bishop, Liturgica Historica, page 229:

(historical) A monk of the reformed branch of the Benedictine order, founded in 910 at Cluny (or Clugny) in France.


grand prior

The chief of a group of priors, at a large religious house with more than one; also specifically, the commander of a priory of the Knights of St John.


Minoress

From Medieval Latin minorissa, from Latin minor (“little, lesser”) + -issa (“-ess”), under influence from Norman frere-menouresse and Middle French sereur meneuresse (“lesser sister”), from menour (“minor”) + -esse (“-ess”), after the model of Medieval Latin Fratres Minores (“Lesser Brothers”), chosen by St. Francis to inculcate humility in the order's members. Equivalent to minor + -ess. Doublet of minoress and Sister Minor.

Also I. bequethe to the Religiouse Wommen the Menouresses dwellyngge witħoute algate of london̄, C. s. to be departed amonge [hem] by euene porcion̄, for to synge and rede and to praye diuine seruice for my lordes soule Sir Thomas West, and myn, and for alle christene soules, and for the estates of Thomas my sone, and Iohane his wyf, and for her children.

1395, Alice West, last will and testement, p. 3

These Nunnes were of the order of S. Clare, and called Minoresses.

1631, John Weever, Ancient Funerall Monuments, page 755:

The chief house of the Clares in England stood near Aldgate; it was built by Blanche, queen of Navarre, and her husband Edmund, earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Darby, son to Henry III. and brother to Edward I. These nuns were Urbanists, and enjoyed revenues. They were called Clares or Minoresses, and their house the Minories...

1759, Alban Butler, The Lives of the... Saints, volume IV, page 87:

Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


priorate

From Latin prioratus; compare French priorat; or prior + -ate.

bishop there during Godfrey's priorate

1774-1781, Thomas Warton, History of English Poetry:

The dignity, office, or government of a prior.


mynchen

From Middle English mynchen, from Old English mynecen, from munec (“monk”). See monk.

Another of these canons orders that the cells of mynchens (sanctimonialium domicilia) were not to be places of gossip, feasting, and drinking, but rather of reading and psalm-singing, than of weaving or sewing fine clothes.

1899, William Hunt, A History of the English Church: Hunt, W. The English church from its foundation to the Norman conquest (597-1066):


abbotric

From Middle English abbodryche, abbotrice, from Old English abbodrice, abbotrice, from abbod (“abbot”) + rice (“realm, rule”); equivalent to abbot + -ric.


take vows

en-verb

take vows (third-person singular simple present takes vows, present participle taking vows, simple past took vows, past participle taken vows)

takes vows (present singular third-person)
taking vows (participle present)
took vows (past)
taken vows (participle past)

And this was the hour Brother Jacques had planned and waited for! For this moment he had donned the robes, isolated himself, taken vows, suffered physical tortures!

1903, Harold MacGrath, chapter 34, in The Grey Cloak:

"Even painters ... try to make all women look like some wife or mistress. You are all the same; you never see our real faces. ... I'd rather take vows and veil my face for ever from such abominable eyes."

A cloister is the part of the monastery that only those who have taken vows may enter.

2001 December 30, Michelle O'Donnell, “The Life Serene”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-11-26:

(Christianity) To become an officially inducted member of a religious order, such as an order of priests, nuns, or monks.


Celestine

(Roman Catholicism) A member of a Roman Catholic monastic order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244.


cenobium

There were the cenobia, or monasteries proper, where the life was according to the lines laid down by St Basil; and there were the lauras, wherein a semi-eremitical life was followed, the monks living in separate huts within the enclosure.

1911, E. C. Butler, “Monasticism”, in H[enry] M[elvill] Gwatkin, J[ames] P[ounder] Whitney, editors, The Cambridge Medieval History, volumes I (The Christian Roman Empire and the Foundation of the Teutonic Kingdoms), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, →OCLC, page 529:

Psalmody refers to singing or reciting psalms; in the cenobium this was performed communally seven times a day.

2002, Robert Imperato, “Desert Tradition: Cassian and Benedict”, in Early and Medieval Christian Spirituality, Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, →ISBN, page 45:

We are part of a community, a cenobium, and we are under the spiritual direction of an abbot and his delegates.

2011, John Michael Talbot, “The Observance of Lent”, in Blessings of St. Benedict, Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, →ISBN, page 79:

The cenobium is the proper locus for the acquisition of virtue and in the nineteenth conference he has the Abbot John [Cassian], who had passed thirty years in the cenobium, twenty as an anchorite and then returned to the cenobium, expound the dangers of the desert and the advantages of the cenobium.

2012, Mark Sheridan, “John Cassian and the Formation of Authoritative Tradition”, in From the Nile to the Rhone and Beyond: Studies in Early Monastic Literature and Scriptural Interpretation, Rome: Studia Anselmiana, →ISBN, part II (To the Rhone), page 417:


Bridgettine

Named after Bridget of Sweden, a Swedish mystic and saint of 14th century, founder of the Bridgettine nuns and monks and one of the six patron saints of Europe.

A member of the Order of the Most Holy Savior, an Augustinian monastic order of nuns, religious sisters and monks founded by Saint Bridget of Sweden a.k.a. Saint Birgitta in 1344, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370.


clarissa

Borrowed from Italian clarissa, from Medieval Latin Clarissa; see there for more. Doublet of Clarisse, Clare, and Clarist.

[…] all these obscene references of a sexual nature punctuate the ritualistic prodigality of the Northeast and its winter cycle, and if in the main popular qualification of the character of the clarissa nun called Maria Ermelinda Correia, the composer of the sweet in the mouth of the people, as an expression of her overblown greediness.

2020, Richardo Ferreira de Almeida et al., “Popular Sweets in Douro Valley”, in Advances in Tourism, Technology, and Systems, page 188:

(Catholicism) Alternative letter-case form of Clarissa: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


abegha

Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Apostolic Church

(ecclesiastical) A celibate priest or monk of the Armenian Apostolic Church; a hieromonk.

աբեղա

a celibate priest or monk of the Armenian Apostolic Church


cenobiarch

Simplification of coenobiarch, from Latin coenobiarcha (“abbot”), from Koine Greek κοινοβιάρχης (koinobiárkhēs, “abbot”), from κοινόβιον (koinóbion, “cenobium, monastery”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “rule”) + -ης (-ēs).

der

κοινοβιάρχης

(often Christianity, chiefly Eastern Orthodoxy) The leader of a cenobium: an abbot, a guru.


starets

Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church

An elder of a monastery in the Russian Orthodox Church who functions as an adviser and teacher.

starec

an elder of a monastery in the Russian Orthodox Church who functions as an adviser and teacher


monasterial

From Middle English monasterial, from Latin monastēriālis.


greyfriar

From grey + friar, from the grey habit worn by the Conventual Franciscans.

(Catholicism) Synonym of Franciscan: a member of the Order of the Friars Minor.


bhikkhuni

Transliteration of Pali bhikkhunī, from Sanskrit भिक्षुणी (bhikṣuṇī).

Coordinate term: bhikkhu


minoress

The chronicler Charles Wriothesley is the sole authority for the marriage of one Mistress Bures, a minoress of some 16 years standing, to the quondam abbot of Walden, Essex in 1538.

1992, Catherine Paxton, The Nunneries of London and Its Environs in the Later Middle Ages, page 302:

(Catholicism) Alternative letter-case form of Minoress: a Poor Clare.


cenobiac

en-adj

cenobiac (comparative more cenobiac, superlative most cenobiac)

more cenobiac (comparative)
most cenobiac (superlative)


father superior

en-noun

father superior (plural fathers superior or father superiors)

fathers superior (plural)
father superiors (plural)

a friar or monk in charge of a monastery, priory or convent; an abbot or a prior


skufia

(religion) A soft-sided brimless cap of various shapes, worn by clergy or monastics.


monkette

One summer resident's friends had thrown her a “monkette” party when she left behind a lucrative career in video production

2011, Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire - Page 21:

He patted the couch beside him. “Sit. Unless you want to go lie down again? The monkette and I will be fine in here.” “The monkette?” He chuckled.

2012, Husband for a Weekend - Part 5 - Page 215:

She was trembling a little. Upset? Turned on? Couldn't be sure. “There's more to life than sex, obviously, but I'm not a monk, and I'm not looking to marry a ... a what? A monkette?” Sarah burst out laughing.


Olivetan

One of an order of Benedictine monks founded in 1313, the original house at Monte Oliveto, near Siena.


Camaldolese

From Italian camaldolese, from Camaldoli + -ese. The order was founded by Sain Romuald around 1012 in Camaldoli, Tuscany, Italy.

(Roman Catholicism) Pertaining to the Camaldolese Order of Italy.


Camaldolese

(Roman Catholicism) A monk or nun belonging to the Camaldolese Order of Italy.

camaldolese

mon or nun belonging to the Camaldolese Order


kasaya

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit काषाय (kāṣāya).

(Buddhism) A monastic robe worn by ordained Buddhist monks and nuns.


vinaya

(Buddhism) The rules that regulate Buddhist monastic life.


cenobitically

en-adv

cenobitically (comparative more cenobitically, superlative most cenobitically)

more cenobitically (comparative)
most cenobitically (superlative)


Poor Clare

The Poor Clares... have also divided into Clarissines and Urbanists.

1883, Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume XVI, page 711:

Following Francis' example, Clare founded an order of religious women known as the Poor Ladies of Assisi (like Francis' Poor Men), and later as the Clarissas or Poor Clares in her honor.

1991, Thomas Head, “Clare of Assisi”, in An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers:

(Catholicism) A nun of the Poor Clares, a member of the Order of Saint Clare.


Urbanist

From Urban + -ist. In reference to Catholic nuns, from the promulgation of a separate rule of conduct by Pope Urban IV.

(Catholicism) A Poor Clare who follows or advocates the use of revised codes of conduct in place of the original precepts established by Saint Clare.


Greyfriars

As a common British placename, typically derived from having been the site of a Franciscan friary prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

(Catholicism) Synonym of Franciscans: the Order of the Friars Minor.


Clarissian

In 1260, the Clarissians moved to the convent of Santa Chiara in town; afterwards, the church became a Fransciscan friary...

1992, Samuel Kline Cohn, The Cult of Remembrance and the Black Death, page 322:

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


Poor Lady

Originally an epithet of St Clare of Assisi herself.

...his widow became a Poor Lady in the convent of Strala, where she long fulfilled the office of abbess...

The rule of Urban IV also clarified the nomenclature of the Clarissas, with the pope designating the group as the Order of St. Claire rather than Poor Ladies, or Poor Recluses, of San Damiano.

1995, Caroline A. Bruzelius, “Queen Sancia of Mallorca and the Convent Church of Sta. Chiara in Naples”, in Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, volume 40, page 75:


Clarissine

From French clarissine, from Clarisse + -ine.

(Catholicism) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare, sometimes particularly one who follows or advocates the original precepts established by St Clare.


Clarist

His wife desired to enter a convent of Clarists.

1840, Kenelm Henry Digby, Mores Catholici, page 404:


Clarissan

The rule of the Clarissans, who take their name from St Clara, was very strict.

1865, John Malcolm Forbes Ludlow, Women's Work in the Church, page 130:


Sister Minoress

en-noun

Sister Minoress (plural Sisters Minoress)

From sister + Minoress, q.v. Doublet of Sister Minor.

...the Abbesse and Covent of the Susters Meneresses withoute Algate...

1451, Rolls of Parliament, volume V, page 224:


sister minoress

sister minoress (plural sisters minoress)

It appears that Catharine became a sister minoress of the house of Brisyerd, in Suffolk.

1823, William Hutchinson, History and Antiquities of Durham, volume III, page 84:

Alternative letter-case form of Sister Minoress.


Sister Minor

Calque of Medieval Latin sorores minores (“lesser sisters”) and its variants in Norman, Middle French, and Italian. Doublet of Sister Minoress.

cal

...any Graunte by us made unto the Abbas, Covent and Susters Minores withoute Algate of oure Citee of London...

1473, Rolls of Parliament, volume VI, page 78:

(Catholicism, obsolete or historical) Synonym of Poor Clare: a nun of the Order of Saint Clare.


Friar Minor

en-noun

Friar Minor (plural Friars Minor or Friar Minors)

Friars Minor (plural)
Friar Minors (plural)

A calque of Medieval Latin Fratres Minores (“the Lesser Brothers”), both directly and via Old French freres meneurs and Norman freres menures, a name supposedly chosen by St Francis to inculcate humility.

der

[…] So þere weren with vs ij worthi men, Frere Menoures […]

c. 1410, "John Mandeville", Travels (Titus C.xvi), p. 188

The Friars Preacher opened their studium generale at St. Jacques, Paris, in 1229, the Friars Minor theirs in 1231.

1952, Beryl Smalley, Study of Bible in Middle Ages, p. 264


Gilbertine

From Gilbert + -ine. Named after Gilbert of Sempringham (c. 1085 – 1189), who founded the order.

(Catholicism) A member of the Gilbertine Order, an English religious order founded around 1130 in Sempringham, Lincolnshire.


phongyi

The death of a Ponghee or president of a kyoung is regarded as a great event, and the funeral is conducted with pomp and ceremony. The body, being emboweled, and its juices pressed out, is filled with honey.

1839, Howard Malcom, Travels in South-Eastern Asia, embracing Hindustan, Malaya, Siam and China […] :