hermit

[ hur-mit ]

noun

1. a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

   Synonyms: cenobite, anchorite, monastic, eremite

2. any person living in seclusion; recluse.
3. Zoology. an animal of solitary habits.
4. Ornithology. any of numerous hummingbirds of the genera Glaucis and Phaethornis, having curved bills and dull-colored rather than iridescent plumage.
5. a spiced molasses cookie often containing raisins or nuts.
6. Obsolete. a beadsman.

hermit

/ ˈhɜːmɪt /

noun

1. one of the early Christian recluses
2. any person living in solitude

Derived Forms

• herˈmitically, adverb
• ˈhermit-ˌlike, adjective
• herˈmitic, adjective

Other Words From

• her·mitic her·miti·cal hermit·ish adjective
• her·miti·cal·ly adverb
• hermit·like adjective
• hermit·ry hermit·ship noun
• unher·mitic adjective
• unher·miti·cal adjective
• unher·miti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of hermit¹

1175–1225; Middle English ermite, hermite, heremite < Old French < Late Latin erēmīta < Greek erēmītḗs living in a desert, equivalent to erḗm ( ia ) desert (derivative of erêmos desolate) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of hermit¹

C13: from Old French hermite, from Late Latin erēmīta, from Greek erēmitēs living in the desert, from erēmia desert, from erēmos lonely

Example Sentences

In “Snail,” a traumatized and lonely young Grace risks becoming a hoarding hermit until she bonds with the older Pinky, who is the essence of joie de vivre.

From Los Angeles Times

Karen, 60, from Sheffield, said she was left living "just like a hermit" after having to move house and building up sizeable debts following the end of a relationship.

From BBC

"Earlier this week, we’ve had a hermit crab that came back from Malta in a shell," he said.

From BBC

Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez on a shoestring budget of $60,000, “Blair Witch” purported to be not a fictional story but the actual footage found in camcorders left behind by three young filmmakers who disappeared in the Maryland woods in 1994 while making a documentary about a mythical local hermit who abducted and slaughtered children.

From Los Angeles Times

But when the king failed to invite him to the wedding party, the furious hermit cursed his creation with a potent stench.

From Salon

Related Words

• recluse