cloister

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. abbey, priory, convent, hermitage, monastery; retreat, sanctuary; arcade, colonnade. See seclusion, abode, temple.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A place of religious seclusion]

Syn. monastery, convent, abbey, priory, nunnery, friary, Charterhouse, hermitage, chapter house, house, order, retreat, cell(s), cenoby, retreat from the world, cloistered walls, religious community, lamasery, ashram; see also sanctuary 2 .

2. [A covered walk]

Syn. ambulatory, arcade, gallery; see colonnade , court 1 .

Syn.- cloister , in this comParison, is the general term for a place of religious seclusion, for either men or women, and emphasizes in connotation retirement from the world; convent , once a general term synonymous with cloister , is now usually restricted to such a place for women (nuns), formerly called a nunnery ; monastery usually refers to a cloister for men (monks); an abbey is a cloister ruled by an abbot or abbess; a priory is a cloister ruled by a prior or prioress and is sometimes a subordinate branch of an abbey

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. secluded refuge asylum, retreat, sanctuary, haven, monastery, abbey, convent.

2. covered walkway colonnade, arcade, courtyard, ambulatory, promenade, archway, gallery.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb To put into solitude: seclude, sequester, sequestrate. See INCLUDE.