cloister
English · Thesaurus
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cloister
- /ˈklɔɪstə/ UK
- /ˈklɔɪstɚ/ Canada, US
- /ˈkloɪstə/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɔɪstə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Recorded since about 1300 as Middle English cloistre, borrowed from Old French cloistre, clostre, or via Old English clauster, both from Medieval Latin claustrum (“portion of monastery closed off to laity”), from Latin claustrum (“place shut in, bar, bolt, enclosure”), a derivation of the past participle of claudere (“to close”). Doublet of claustrum.
noun cloisters · cloistre
- such an arcade in a monastery;
- such an arcade fitted with representations of the stages of Christ's Passion.
- A place, especially a monastery or convent, devoted to religious seclusion.
- The monastic life.
verb cloisters · cloistering · cloistered · cloistre
-
To become a Roman Catholic religious.
Similar: enter religion
- To confine in a cloister, voluntarily or not.
- To deliberately withdraw from worldly things.
- To provide with a cloister or cloisters. The architect cloistered the college just like the monastery which founded it.
- To protect or isolate. Unique condo cloistered on top of hill.
Translations
Every language
noun covered walk with an open colonnade
| Español | claustro |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 回廊 kairō |
| 中文 | 迴廊 /回廊 huíláng |
| Português | claustro |
| Français | cloître |
| Deutsch | Kreuzgang |
| Italiano | chiostro |
| Ελληνικά | περιστύλιο peristýlio |
| Română | claustru, arcadă |
| Русский | клуа́тр kluátr, кры́тая галере́я krýtaja galeréja, кры́тая арка́да krýtaja arkáda |
noun place devoted to religious seclusion
| Español | claustro |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 修道院 shūdōin |
| 中文 | 修道院 xiūdàoyuàn |
| Português | claustro |
| Français | cloître |
| Deutsch | Kloster |
| Ελληνικά | μοναστήρι monastíri |
| Română | mănăstire |
| Русский | монасты́рь monastýrʹ |
noun monastic life
| Português | claustro, clausura |
|---|---|
| Français | (la vie des) cloîtres |
| Deutsch | Klosterleben, Klausur |
| Română | călugărie, sihăstrie |
verb (''transitive'')
| Español | enclaustrar, enceldar |
|---|
verb become a Catholic religious
| Română | claustra |
|---|
Talk about this word "cloister." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cloister. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cloister. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cloister "cloister." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cloister.Cite this
@misc{cloister_2026,
title = {cloister},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cloister},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
