cloister

cloister
\ \ [13] A cloister was originally simply an enclosed place, a ‘close’. The word comes from Old French cloistre, a descendant of Latin claustrumbar, bolt, enclosure’, which was formed from the past participial stem of Latin claudereclose’ (source of English close). The notion of ‘enclosure’ led to the word’s being applied to a place of religious seclusion, such as a monastery or convent, and hence to a covered walkway within a monastic building. It also lies behind claustrophobia [19], which was formed from Latin claustrum.
\ \ Cf.CLAUSTROPHOBIA, CLOSE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Cloister — • The English equivalent of the Latin word clausura (from claudere, to shut up ) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Cloister     Cloister      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Cloister — Clois ter, n. [OF. cloistre, F. clo[^i]tre, L. claustrum, pl. claustra, bar, bolt, bounds, fr. claudere, clausum, to close. See {Close}, v. t., and cf. {Claustral}.] [1913 Webster] 1. An inclosed place. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. A covered …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cloister — [klois′tər] n. [ME < OFr cloistre & OE clauster, both < ML(Ec) claustrum, portion of monastery closed off to the laity < L, a bolt, place shut in < pp. of claudere, to CLOSE2] 1. a place of religious seclusion: monastery or convent 2 …   English World dictionary

  • cloister — n 1 Cloister, convent, monastery, nunnery, abbey, priory. Cloister and convent are general terms denoting a place of retirement from the world for members of a religious community; they may apply to houses for recluses of either sex. In such use… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Cloister — Clois ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cloistered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Cloistering}.] To confine in, or as in, a cloister; to seclude from the world; to immure. [1913 Webster] None among them are thought worthy to be styled religious persons but those… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cloister — ► NOUN 1) a covered, and typically colonnaded, passage round an open court in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral. 2) (the cloister) the secluded life of a monk or nun. ► VERB ▪ seclude or shut up in a convent or monastery. DERIVATIVES… …   English terms dictionary

  • cloister — index circumscribe (surround by boundary), envelop, restrict, sequester (seclude), shut Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • cloister — [n] secluded religious place abbey, cell, chapter house, convent, friary, hermitage, house, lamasery, monastery, nunnery, order, priorate, priory, religious community, retreat, sanctuary; concepts 368,516 …   New thesaurus

  • Cloister — Cloisters redirects here. For the museum in New York City, see The Cloisters. For other uses, see Cloister (disambiguation). Cloister at Salisbury Cathedral …   Wikipedia

  • cloister — cloisterless, adj. cloisterlike, adj. /kloy steuhr/, n. 1. a covered walk, esp. in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade usually opening onto a courtyard. 2. a courtyard, esp. in a religious institution, bordered with such… …   Universalium

  • cloister — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. abbey, priory, convent, hermitage, monastery; retreat, sanctuary; arcade, colonnade. See seclusion, abode, temple. II (Roget s IV) n. 1. [A place of religious seclusion] Syn. monastery, convent, abbey …   English dictionary for students

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