cloister

  • 1Cloister — • The English equivalent of the Latin word clausura (from claudere, to shut up ) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Cloister     Cloister      …

    Catholic encyclopedia

  • 2Cloister — 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

  • 3cloister — [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

  • 4cloister — 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

  • 5Cloister — 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

  • 6cloister — ► 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

  • 7cloister — index circumscribe (surround by boundary), envelop, restrict, sequester (seclude), shut Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 8cloister — [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

  • 9Cloister — Cloisters redirects here. For the museum in New York City, see The Cloisters. For other uses, see Cloister (disambiguation). Cloister at Salisbury Cathedral …

    Wikipedia

  • 10cloister — 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