From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cloister \Clois"ter\, n. [OF. cloistre, F. clo[^i]tre, L.
claustrum, pl. claustra, bar, bolt, bounds, fr. claudere,
clausum, to close. See {Close}, v. t., and cf. {Claustral}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. An inclosed place. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
2. A covered passage or ambulatory on one side of a court;
(pl.) the series of such passages on the different sides
of any court, esp. that of a monastery or a college.
[1913 Webster]
But let my due feet never fail
To walk the studious cloister's pale. --Milton.
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3. A monastic establishment; a place for retirement from the
world for religious duties.
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Fitter for a cloister than a crown. --Daniel.
[1913 Webster]
{Cloister garth} (Arch.), the garden or open part of a court
inclosed by the cloisters.
Syn: {Cloister}, {Monastery}, {Nunnery}, {Convent}, {Abbey},
{Priory}.
Usage: Cloister and convent are generic terms, and denote a
place of seclusion from the world for persons who
devote their lives to religious purposes. They differ
is that the distinctive idea of cloister is that of
seclusion from the world, that of convent, community
of living. Both terms denote houses for recluses of
either sex. A cloister or convent for monks is called
a monastery; for nuns, a nunnery. An abbey is a
convent or monastic institution governed by an abbot
or an abbess; a priory is one governed by a prior or a
prioress, and is usually affiliated to an abbey.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Cloister \Clois"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cloistered}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Cloistering}.]
To confine in, or as in, a cloister; to seclude from the
world; to immure.
[1913 Webster]
None among them are thought worthy to be styled
religious persons but those that cloister themselves up
in a monastery. --Sharp.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
cloister
n 1: residence that is a place of religious seclusion (such as a
monastery) [syn: {religious residence}, {cloister}]
2: a courtyard with covered walks (as in religious institutions)
v 1: surround with a cloister, as of a garden
2: surround with a cloister; "cloister the garden"
3: seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister; "She
cloistered herself in the office"
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