Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Monk

Monk

,
Noun.
[AS.
munuc
,
munec
,
munc
, L.
monachus
, Gr. [GREEK], fr.
μόνοσ
alone. Cf.
Monachism
.]
1.
A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious community of men inhabiting a monastery, and bound by vows to a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty.
“A monk out of his cloister.”
Chaucer.
Monks
in some respects agree with regulars, as in the substantial vows of religion; but in other respects
monks
and regulars differ; for that regulars, vows excepted, are not tied up to so strict a rule of life as
monks
are.
Ayliffe.
2.
(Print.)
A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink.
3.
A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine.
4.
(Zool.)
(a)
A South American monkey (
Pithecia monachus
); also applied to other species, as
Cebus xanthocephalus
.
(b)
The European bullfinch.
Monk bat
(Zool.)
,
a South American and West Indian bat (
Molossus nasutus
); – so called because the males live in communities by themselves.
–
Monk bird
(Zool.)
,
the friar bird.
–
Monk seal
(Zool.)
,
a species of seal (
Monachus albiventer
) inhabiting the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic.
–
Monk’s rhubarb
(Bot.)
,
a kind of dock; – also called
patience
(
Rumex Patientia
).

Webster 1828 Edition


Monk

MONK

,
Noun.
[L. monachus.] A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion. Monks usually live in monasteries, on entering which they take a vow to observe certain rules. Some however live as hermits in solitude,and others have lived a strolling life without any fixed residence.