cloister

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun residence that is a place of religious seclusion (such as a monastery)
  2. noun a courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions)
  3. verb surround with a cloister, as of a garden

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

religious residence

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