cloister
pronunciation
How to pronounce cloister in British English:
UK [ˈklɔɪstə(r)]
How to pronounce cloister in American English:
US [ˈklɔɪstɚ]
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- Noun:
- residence that is a place of religious seclusion (such as a monastery)
- a courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions)
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- Verb:
- surround with a cloister, as of a garden
- seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister
Word Origin
- cloister
- cloister: [13] A cloister was originally simply an enclosed place, a ‘close’. The word comes from Old French cloistre, a descendant of Latin claustrum ‘bar, bolt, enclosure’, which was formed from the past participial stem of Latin claudere ‘close’ (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.=> claustrophobia, close
- cloister (n.)
- early 13c., from Old French cloistre "monastery, convent; enclosure" (12c., Modern French cloître), from Medieval Latin claustrum "portion of monastery closed off to laity," from Latin claustrum (usually in plural, claustra) "place shut in, enclosure; bar, bolt, means of shutting in," from past participle stem of claudere (see close (v.)). "The original purpose of cloisters was to afford a place in which the monks could take exercise and recreation" [Century Dictionary]. Spelling in French influenced by cloison "partition." Old English had clustor, clauster in the sense "prison, lock, barrier," directly from Latin, and compare, from the same source, Dutch klooster, German Kloster, Polish klasztor.
- cloister (v.)
- c. 1400 (implied in cloistered), from cloister (n.). Figurative use from c. 1600. Related: Cloistered; cloistering.
Example
- 1. Yet it was not the sweetness of life that this cloister taught me .
- 2. The mansion itself had once been a cloister for decrepit nuns , and was surrounded by a sculpted garden .
- 3. Children had in vaded the cloister and were playing leapfrog over the tombstones that strove to perpetuate their virtues .
- 4. I would also spend long hours in the little gothic cloister of san francisco . Its delicate , precious colonnade shone with the fine , golden yellow of old spanish monuments .
- 5. It 's probably dangerous to enter exclusively into this realm and risk being caught in a cloister removed from the market and its accountability .