monk
monk a member of a religious community of men typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; the earliest such communities were groups of hermits living in the desert. In England, the term was not applied before the Reformation to members of the mendicant orders, who were always called friars, but since that period the usage has widened to include members of those orders.
Recorded from Old English (in form munuc), the word is based on Greek monakhos ‘solitary’, from monos ‘alone’.
See also the cowl does not make the monk.
Recorded from Old English (in form munuc), the word is based on Greek monakhos ‘solitary’, from monos ‘alone’.
See also the cowl does not make the monk.
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monk