mon·as·ter·y 
(mŏnə-stĕr′ē)
(mŏnə-stĕr′ē)n. pl. mon·as·ter·ies
1. A community of persons, especially monks, bound by vows to a religious life and often living in partial or complete seclusion.
2. The dwelling place of such a community.
[Middle English monasterie, from Old French monastere, from Late Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastērion, from Greek monazein, to live alone, from monos, alone; see men-4 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
mon′as·teri·al (mŏn′ə-stîrē-əl, -stĕr-) adj.