Link Centre Dictionary

cloister

clois·ter

UK/ˈklɔɪstə/ US/ˈklɔɪstɚ/ uncommon
noun (2) verb (2)

noun

1.

residence that is a place of religious seclusion (such as a monastery)

Synonyms
2.

a courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions)

verb

1.

surround with a cloister, as of a garden

2.

seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister

  • “She cloistered herself in the office”

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • cloister vault

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.