Monastery
//ˈmɒnəstɹi// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A residence for monks or others who have taken religious vows.
- 2 the residence of a religious community wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"These monks live inside the monastery."
Etymology
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.
Related phrases
More for "monastery"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.