Monastical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Belonging to a secluded religious community that upholds strict vows and fosters a spiritual life cut off from everyday distractions
2. Characteristic of a way of life that prioritizes religious duties and communal living among those who have taken sacred vows
3. Relating to a lifestyle centered around religious devotion and communal existence, often marked by ascetic practices and a commitment to spiritual discipline

Etymology: "Monastical" is simply a longer form of "monastic," and the two have run side by side in English for centuries. The root goes back to Greek "monos," meaning "alone" or "single," which gave Late Latin "monachus," a monk, the person who withdrew from ordinary society to live apart. From that Late Latin adjective "monasticus" came Middle French "monastique," the source of the English word. The "-al" ending is an ordinary English addition, attached to the adjective much as it is in "historic" and "historical" or "logic" and "logical." The extra syllable made the form sound more fluent in some contexts, though "monastic" remained the more common choice. Both forms describe anything connected with monks, nuns, or the communal religious life they shared, including the buildings and rules that governed it.

Synonyms: monastic, religious, cloistered, ascetic, hermitic

Antonyms: secular, worldly