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monk Definition

monk (muŋk)

noun

a member of a male religious order living in a monastery or hermitage observing a common rule, under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience

Etymology: ME munec < OE munuc < LL(Ec) monachus < LGr(Ec) monachos < Gr, one who lives alone < monos, alone: see mono-

Monk Definition

Monk (muŋk)

  1. Monk, George 1st Duke of Albemarle 1608-70; Eng. general & politician

  2. muŋk

    Monk, Thelonious (Sphere) (t̸hə lō′nē əs) 1920-82; U.S. jazz pianist & composer

monk Synonyms

monk

n.

hermit, eremite, cenobite, religious, anchorite, ascetic, solitary, recluse, abbot, prior; see also friar, priest.

Orders of monks include: Benedictine, Cistercian, Carthusian, Trappist, Franciscan, Capuchin, Dominican, Vincentian, Carmelite, Augustinian, Jesuit, Templar, Bernardine.

monk Usage Examples

Converse of object

ordain: WHEEL OF LIFE features a cast of twenty five ordained soldier monks, ranging in age from seven to seventy.

Preposition: at

monastery: A monk at the monastery of St Claudio in Leon in Spain.

Converse of subject

  • colonize: The Abbey was founded in 1150 by King David I and was colonized by Cistercian monks.
  • found: Founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, it became a hunting lodge in the 19th century, then a spiritual retreat.

Adjective modifier

  • Benedictine: This house was given to the Benedictine monks of Caldey Abbey in 1928.
  • cistercian: Founded by 12th century Cistercian monks, the abbey sits serenely amid the hills of the Wye river valley.
  • Tibetan: Reiki - is a healing therapy, known to have been used by the Tibetan monks.
  • Augustinian: Built in a Gothic style for the Augustinian monks who had a monastery nearby, it was enlarged over the following centuries.
  • Franciscan: Alongside it compound interest is a mere Franciscan monk.
  • Dominican: Dominican monks opened the first perfume factory in Florence, Italy, in 1608 where they would have made incense.

Modifies a noun

seal: An adult monk seal is usually dark gray or brown with a light gray or yellow belly.

Noun used with modifier

  • Buddhist: He told me he was going to be a Buddhist monk in a remote temple some 150 miles north.
  • Zen: Bader jokes that the haiku was probably ' developed by Zen monks suffering from attention deficit disorder ' .
  • warrior: Taiji is a major course of study within the Shaolin warrior monk 's curriculum.

Possessives

  • dormitory: Lucy's photographs will be exhibited in the monks ' dormitory, an area blessed with lots of natural light.
  • cowl: Instead I must dress in a long black robe and monk's cowl.
  • refectory: Another of the impressive architectural treasures still very much in evidence, apart from the abbey church, is the monks ' refectory.

Preposition: of

  • abbey: Brother David Hodges is a monk of the abbey and a scholar and writer in the Cistercian tradition.
  • priory: Legend has it that these were organized by the monks of the priory as their Whitsun break after a season of austere duties.

Preposition: from

abbey: Robin Hood robbed monks from the abbey of St. Mary's.