A cloister is a covered area round a square in a monastery or a cathedral.
The thirteenth-century cloisters are amongst the most beautiful in central Italy.
cloister in British English
(ˈklɔɪstə)
noun
1.
a covered walk, usually around a quadrangle in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade on the inside and a wall on the outside
2. (sometimes plural)
a place of religious seclusion, such as a monastery
3.
life in a monastery or convent
verb
4. (transitive)
to confine or seclude in or as if in a monastery
Derived forms
cloister-like (ˈcloister-ˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old French cloistre, from Medieval Latin claustrum monastic cell, from Latin: bolt, barrier, from claudere to close; influenced in form by Old French cloison partition
cloister in American English
(ˈklɔɪstər)
noun
1.
a place of religious seclusion: monastery or convent
2.
monastic life
3.
any place where one may lead a secluded life
4.
an arched way or covered walk along the inside wall or walls of a monastery, convent, church, or college building, with a columned opening along one side leading to a courtyard or garden
verb transitive
5.
to seclude or confine in or as in a cloister
6.
to furnish or surround with a cloister
SYNONYMY NOTE: cloister 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 branchof an abbey
Derived forms
cloistered (ˈcloistered)
adjective
cloistral (ˈcloistral) (ˈklɔɪstrəl)
adjective
Word origin
ME < OFr cloistre & OE clauster, both < ML(Ec) claustrum, portion of monastery closed off to the laity < L, a bolt, place shut in < pp. ofclaudere, to close2
Examples of 'cloister' in a sentence
cloister
Our whole lives were lived within the cathedral cloisters.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The building has so many beautiful aspects, such as its old cloisters and courtyard.