Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Hermit — Her mit, n. [OE. ermite, eremite, heremit, heremite, F. hermite, ermite, L. eremita, Gr. ?, fr. ? lonely, solitary. Cf. {Eremite}.] 1. A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an anchoret; especially, one who so lives… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
hermit — early 12c., religious recluse, from O.Fr. (h)eremite, from L.L. ermita, from Gk. eremites, lit. person of the desert, from eremia desert, solitude, from eremos uninhabited, empty, desolate, from PIE *ere to separate. Transferred sense of person… … Etymology dictionary
hermit — [hʉr′mit] n. [ME hermite < OFr < LL(Ec) eremita < LGr erēmitēs, a hermit < Gr, of the desert < erēmos, desolate < IE base * er , loose, distant, to separate > Sans * árma (pl.), fragments, ruins] 1. a person who lives alone… … English World dictionary
hermit — eremite, anchorite, *recluse, cenobite Contrasted words: *religious, monk, friar, nun: *ascetic, mystic … New Dictionary of Synonyms
hermit — [n] person who chose to live alone outside of human society anchoret, anchorite, ascetic, eremite, misanthrope, pillarist, recluse, skeptic, solitaire, solitarian, solitary, stylite; concepts 361,423 … New thesaurus
hermit — ► NOUN 1) a person living in solitude as a religious discipline. 2) a reclusive or solitary person. DERIVATIVES hermitic adjective. ORIGIN Greek er mit s, from er mos solitary … English terms dictionary
Hermit — A hermit (from the Greek anachōreō , signifying to withdraw , to depart into the country outside the circumvallated city ), recluse and solitary . However, it is important to retain a clear distinction between the vocation of hermits and that of… … Wikipedia
hermit — hermitic, hermitical, hermitish, adj. hermitically, adv. hermitlike, adj. hermitry, hermitship, n. /herr mit/, n. 1. a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion. 2. any person living in seclusion; recluse. 3.… … Universalium
hermit — UK [ˈhɜː(r)mɪt] / US [ˈhɜrmɪt] noun [countable] Word forms hermit : singular hermit plural hermits 1) someone who chooses to live alone or spend most of their time alone 2) someone who chooses to live alone and far away from society for religious … English dictionary
hermit — n. 1 an early Christian recluse. 2 any person living in solitude. Phrases and idioms: hermit crab any crab of the family Paguridae that lives in a cast off mollusc shell for protection. hermit thrush a migratory N. American thrush, Catharus… … Useful english dictionary
Hermit — Le hermit est une langue éteinte des langues des îles de l Amirauté en province de Manus. Son code ISO était llf. Il était parlé sur l île éponyme et sur les îles Luf et Maron. Portail des langues … Wikipédia en Français
