Cloistier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. More withdrawn and sheltered from public life, living in quiet seclusion ; more like a monastic or scholarly existence set apart from worldly affairs
2. Further removed from the bustle of society and more shut away from outside contact ; more resembling the austere, bookish life of a religious community
3. Showing a more retreated, protected way of living apart from the world ; leaning toward the contemplative, studious habits of monks or scholars

Etymology: "Cloistier" is the comparative of "cloisty," meaning more secluded or shut away from the world, the way a monastery's cloister is. The base word "cloister" came through Old French "cloistre" from Latin "claustrum," an enclosed place or bar, which comes from "claudere," to shut. A cloistier life or place is therefore one that is more closed off, as the word's Latin ancestor intended.