cenobite

American  

[see-nuh-bahyt, sen-uh-] / ˈsi nəˌbaɪt, ˈsɛn ə- /

Or coenobite

noun

1. a member of a religious order living in a convent or community.

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cenobite British  

/ ˈsiːnəʊˌbaɪt /

noun

1. a variant spelling of coenobite

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Other Word Forms

• cenobian adjective
• cenobitic adjective
• cenobitical adjective
• cenobitically adverb
• cenobitism noun

Etymology

Origin of cenobite

1630–40; < Late Latin coenobīta, equivalent to coenob- (< Greek koinóbios (adj.) conventual, living together, equivalent to koino- ceno- ² + bi- bi- ² + -os adj. suffix) + -īta -ite ¹

Example Sentences

His life long he was morbidly nervous, as was Meryon, as was Cézanne; but he was neither half mad, like the great etcher, nor a cenobite, as was the painter of Aix.

From Promenades of an Impressionist by Huneker, James

About the close of the fourth century the cenobite system was introduced into Europe, and in an astonishingly short space of time spread throughout all the western countries where Christianity had gained a foothold.

From General History for Colleges and High Schools by Myers, Philip Van Ness

Her neatness and the exquisite care she took of her person had in them little of the cenobite.

From Pepita Ximenez by Valera, Juan

And though the cenobite realises his personality, it is often an impoverished personality that he so realises. 

From The Soul of Man under Socialism by Wilde, Oscar

Thinner, much older, his long, spidery arms, almost colorless blond hair and eroded features gave him the air of a cenobite who had escaped from some Scandinavian wilderness into life.

From Melomaniacs by Huneker, James