/
ˈklɔɪstə/
n.
- a covered, and typically colonnaded, passage round an open court in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral.
- a convent or monastery.
▸
(the cloister)
monastic life.
v.
seclude or shut up in a convent or monastery.
Derivative
Etymology
ME: from OFr. cloistre, from L. claustrum, clostrum ‘lock, enclosed place’, from claudere, ‘to close’.