monastery

monastery
—monasterial /mon'euh stear"ee euhl/, adj.
/mon"euh ster'ee/, n., pl. monasteries.
1. a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, esp. monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.
2. the community of persons living in such a place.
[1350-1400; ME < LL monasterium < LGk monastérion monk house, orig. hermit's cell, equiv. to monas-, var. s. of monázein to be alone (see MON-) + -terion neut. adj. suffix denoting place]
Syn. 1. cloister; abbey, priory, friary, lamasery.

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Local community or residence of a religious order, particularly an order of monks.

Christian monasteries originally developed in Egypt, where the monks first lived as isolated hermits and then began to coalesce in communal groups. Monasteries were later found throughout the Christian world and often included a central space for church, chapels, fountain, and dining hall. In the Middle Ages they served as centres of worship and learning and often played an important role for various European rulers. The vihara was an early type of Buddhist monastery, consisting of an open court surrounded by open cells accessible through an entrance porch. Originally built in India to shelter monks during the rainy season, viharas took on a sacred character when small stupas and images of the Buddha were installed in the central court. In western India, viharas were often excavated into rock cliffs. See also abbey.

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      local community or residence of a religious order, particularly an order of monks. See abbey; monasticism.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Monastery — of St. Nilus on Stolbnyi Island in Lake Seliger near Ostashkov, Russia, ca. 1910 …   Wikipedia

  • monastery — (n.) c.1400, from O.Fr. monastere monastery (14c.) and directly from L.L. monasterium, from Eccles. Gk. monasterion a monastery, from monazein to live alone, from monos alone (see MONO (Cf. mono )). With suffix terion place for (doing something) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Monastery — Mon as*te*ry, n.; pl. {Monasteries}. [L. monasterium, Gr. ?, fr. ? a solitary, a monk, fr. ? to be alone, live in solitude, fr. mo nos alone. Cf. {Minister}.] A house of religious retirement, or of secusion from ordinary temporal concerns,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • monastery — *cloister, convent, nunnery, abbey, priory …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • monastery — [n] place where monks live abbey, cloister, friary, house, lamasery, priory, religious community; concepts 368,439,516 …   New thesaurus

  • monastery — ► NOUN (pl. monasteries) ▪ a community of monks living under religious vows. ORIGIN Greek monast rion, from monazein live alone …   English terms dictionary

  • monastery — [män′ə ster΄ē] n. pl. monasteries [ME monasterie < LL(Ec) monasterium < LGr(Ec) monastērion < Gr monazein, to be alone < monos, alone: see MONO ] 1. a building or residence for monks or others who have withdrawn from the world for… …   English World dictionary

  • monastery — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ great ▪ the great monastery of St Quentin ▪ ancient, medieval, old ▪ ruined ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • MONASTERY —    Western European monastic communities began to develop into more formalized brick and stone architectural compounds during the reign of Charlemagne in the 800s. Monasteries, which function as a place of prayer and are inhabited by people… …   Historical Dictionary of Architecture

  • monastery — UK [ˈmɒnəst(ə)rɪ] / US [ˈmɑnəˌsterɪ] noun [countable] Word forms monastery : singular monastery plural monasteries a building where a group of monks (= a religious community of men) lives and works …   English dictionary

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