Anchorite
Pronunciation
Alternative forms
Origin
From Ancient Greek ἀναχωÏητής (anakhÅrÄ“tÄ“s, "anchoret"), from ἀναχωÏÎω (anakhÅreÅ, "I withdraw, retire"), via Latin anachorÄ“ta ("anchorite").
Full definition of anchorite
Noun
anchorite
(plural anchorites)- One who lives in isolation or seclusion, especially for religious reasons.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 16, The preposterous altruism too!...Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.
- 1950, Will Durant, The Age of Faith, Simon and Schuster, page 792.About 1150 some Palestinian anchorites adopted the eremitical rule of St. Basil, and spread throughout Palestine; when the Moslems captured the Holy Land these "Carmelites" migrated to Cyprus, Sicily, France, and England.
Related terms
- anchoress (feminine gender)