• Laura

    Pronunciation

    • Rhymes: -ɔːrÉ™

    Origin

    From Late Latin laura, from Ancient Greek λαύρα ("lane, path").

    Alternative forms

    Full definition of laura

    Noun

    laura

    (plural lauras)
    1. (historical, Roman Catholic Church) A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior
      • 1864, Charles Kingsley, Lecture IX: The Monk a Civilizer, The Roman and the Teuton: A Series of Lectures Delivered Before the University of Cambridge, page 240,The solitaries of the Thebaid found that they became selfish wild beasts, or went mad, if they remained alone; and they formed themselves into lauras, 'lanes' of huts, convents, under a common abbot or father.
    2. (historical, Eastern Orthodox Church) A cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the centre.
      • 1966, E. C. Butler, Chapter XVIII: Monasticism, H. M. Gwatkin, J. P. Whitney (editors), The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 1, page 529,There were the cenobia, or monasteries proper, where the life was according to the lines laid down by St Basil; and there were the lauras, wherein a semi-eremitical life was followed, the monks living in separate huts within the enclosure.

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