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Monk

//mʌŋk// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    A male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service.

    "This is believed to be the completeſt liſt of this voluminous, proſaick, and driveling monk, that can be formed, without acceſs, at leaſt, to every manuſcript library in the kingdom, which would be very difficult, if not imposſible, to obtain."

  2. 2
    A monkey. colloquial

    "‘We wuz talkin’ and the monk got loose, and she sent me off to catch him.’"

  3. 3
    a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work wordnet
  4. 4
    In earlier usage, an eremite or hermit devoted to solitude, as opposed to a cenobite, who lived communally.

    "Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, while in the case of monk and crusader there must have been a sustaining purpose, and possibly a great abnegation, a leaving of lands and possessions.”"

  5. 5
    Someone who leads an isolated life; a loner, a hermit. slang
Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    An unmarried man who does not have sexual relationships. slang
  2. 7
    A judge. slang
  3. 8
    An inkblot. archaic
  4. 9
    A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthosternos.
  5. 10
    The bullfinch, common bullfinch, European bullfinch, or Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).
  6. 11
    The monkfish.
  7. 12
    A fuse for firing mines. historical
Verb
  1. 1
    To be a monk.

    ""Ah!" she cried, "thou art the prettiest little monk that ever monked it in this blessed, amorous town of Constance!""

  2. 2
    To act like a monk; especially to be contemplative.

    "Many a scholar, making wings of candlewicks to flap away old darkness, monked his life to fasting long while feasting upon new light."

  3. 3
    To monkey or meddle; to behave in a manner that is not systematic.

    "The Avatar spoke gently as she responded to his jibe. "Now fucking get aboard and stop monking on like a schoolboy, you silly earplug."

  4. 4
    To be intoxicated or confused.

    "I looked up from the thick cotton mat, unsure where my legs were. “She looks monked up.” “maybe her brain is damaged, huh, miss Bryant?”"

  5. 5
    To attach so that it sticks out. transitive

    "Molten roofing north, lead dripping down south, stand like those immobilized columns of arctic water west, stalagmites, monked and housed or stamped and dudleyed east, in school texts."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

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”).

Etymology 3

By shortening.

See also for "monk"

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