hermit
pronunciation
How to pronounce hermit in British English:
UK [ˈhɜːmɪt]
How to pronounce hermit in American English:
US [ˈhɜːrmɪt]
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- Noun:
- one retired from society for religious reasons
- one who lives in solitude
Word Origin
- hermit
- hermit: [13] Etymologically, a hermit is someone who lives alone in the desert. The word comes ultimately from Greek érēmos ‘solitary’, from which was derived erēmíā ‘desert, solitude’. Many of the early Christian hermits, notably Saint Anthony, lived not only alone but in the desert, so it was appropriate that the term erēmítēs was applied to them. It came into English via medieval Latin herēmīta and Old French hermite.
- hermit (n.)
- early 12c., "religious recluse," from Old French (h)eremite, from Late Latin ermita, from Greek eremites, literally "person of the desert," from eremia "desert, solitude," from eremos "uninhabited, empty, desolate, bereft," from PIE *ere- (2) "to separate" (cognates: Latin rete "net," Lithuanian retis "sieve"). Transferred sense of "person living in solitude" is from 1799. The hermit crab (1735) was so called for its solitary habits.
Example
- 1. But who wants to live like a hermit ?
- 2. Personally , he likes living as a hermit in the desert .
- 3. I respect the hermit but admire the crusader-his life takes more of courage .
- 4. Yet , to think of her as a friendless hermit would be incorrect .
- 5. If I was a hermit , I could certainly manage with a single pair of shoes .