Stylite

//ˈstaɪlaɪt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A Christian ascetic in ancient times who lived alone on top of a tall pillar. historical

    "Daniel, the famous stylite of the city, actually descended from his pillar for the first time in fifteen years, terrifying Basiliscus into the withdrawal of his edict."

  2. 2
    an early Christian ascetic who lived on top of high pillars wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abbotanchoriteasceticbrothercelibatefriar

Example

More examples

"Daniel, the famous stylite of the city, actually descended from his pillar for the first time in fifteen years, terrifying Basiliscus into the withdrawal of his edict."

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Greek στυλίτης (stulítēs), from Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “pillar”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.