PRIORY

priory

(noun) religious residence in a monastery governed by a prior or a convent governed by a prioress

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

priory (plural priories)

A monastery or convent governed by a prior or prioress.

Source: Wiktionary


Pri"o*ry, n.; pl. Priories. Etym: [Cf. LL. prioria. See Prior, n.]

Definition: A religious house presided over by a prior or prioress; -- sometimes an offshoot of, an subordinate to, an abbey, and called also cell, and obedience. See Cell, 2.

Note: Of such houses there were two sorts: one where the prior was chosen by the inmates, and governed as independently as an abbot in an abbey; the other where the priory was subordinate to an abbey, and the prior was placed or displaced at the will of the abbot. Alien priory, a small religious house dependent on a large monastery in some other country.

Syn.

– See Cloister.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 January 2025

DERMATOGLYPHICS

(noun) the study of the whorls and loops and arches in the fingertips and on the palms of the hand and the soles of the feet; “some criminologists specialize in dermatoglyphics”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

coffee icon