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Webster 1913 Edition
Hermit
Her′mit
,Noun.
[OE.
ermite
, eremite
, heremit
, heremite
, F. hermite
, ermite
, L. eremita
, Gr. [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] lonely, solitary. Cf. Eremite
.] 1.
A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an anchoret; especially, one who so lives from religious motives.
He had been Duke of Savoy, and after a very glorious reign, took on him the habit of a
hermit
, and retired into this solitary spot. Addison.
2.
A beadsman; one bound to pray for another.
[Obs.]
“We rest your hermits.” Shak.
Hermit crab
(Zool.)
, a marine decapod crustacean of the family
– Paguridae
. The species are numerous, and belong to many genera. Called also soldier crab
. The hermit crabs usually occupy the dead shells of various univalve mollusks. See Illust. of Commensal
. Hermit thrush
(Zool.)
, an American thrush (
– Turdus Pallasii
), with retiring habits, but having a sweet song. Hermit warbler
(Zool.)
, a California wood warbler (
Dendroica occidentalis
), having the head yellow, the throat black, and the back gray, with black streaks.Webster 1828 Edition
Hermit
HER'MIT
,Noun.
1.
A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an anchoret. The word is usually applied to a person who lives in solitude, disengaged from the cares and interruptions of society, for the purpose of religious contemplation and devotion.2.
A beadsman; one bound to pray for another.