Cloisterer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who lives in seclusion, often in a monastery or convent, exemplifying a lifestyle dedicated to religious contemplation and separation from the outside world
2. An individual who actively chooses to isolate themselves from society in order to focus on spiritual or intellectual pursuits within a cloistered setting
3. Someone who resides in a religious community, embodying a commitment to meditation and the avoidance of external distractions in a secluded environment

Etymology: "Cloisterer" is a plain built-up word: it combines "cloister," a covered walkway around a monastery's inner courtyard, with the suffix "-er" marking a person connected with that place. The noun passed into Middle English as "cloystrer" and "cloysterer," and it was formed on Old French "cloistrier," a term that had a close parallel in Old French "cloistier." Those French forms belong to the same family as "cloister," so the English word is best understood as a monastic counterpart of older words for people who lived in or belonged to a religious house. The base "cloister" is what gives the word its physical picture. Its ultimate source is Latin "claustrum," meaning an enclosed place or bar, from "claudere," to shut. The word therefore first described something closed off from the outside world, and "cloisterer" describes the person who has chosen that enclosure as a way of life.