Monk Meaning
/mʌŋk/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service.
nounIn earlier usage, an eremite or hermit devoted to solitude, as opposed to a cenobite, who lived communally.
Sentence Examples
He practices austerities almost like a monk.
I am a monk.
I think I want to be a monk.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ prayed silently in the monastery early every morning for peace.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The wise old ____ spent his entire life studying ancient religious texts and teaching the local villagers about the importance of kindness.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English monk, from Old English munuc, from Proto-West Germanic *munik, from Late Latin monicus, variant of monachus, from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós, “single, solitary”), from μόνος (mónos, “alone”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This is believed to be the completeſt liſt of this voluminous, proſaick, and driveling monk, that can be formed, without acceſs, at leaſt, to every manuſcript library in the kingdom, which would be very difficult, if not imposſible, to obtain."
— 1802, Joseph Ritson, “Poets of the Fifteenth Century”, in Bibliographia Poetica:
"In clusters on the plain, like cowlless monks at matins, sat the vultures that had settled on the corpse of the hyena impaled by the female rhino […]"
— 1982, Michael Bishop, No enemy but time:
"Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, while in the case of monk and crusader there must have been a sustaining purpose, and possibly a great abnegation, a leaving of lands and possessions.”"
— 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
""Ah!" she cried, "thou art the prettiest little monk that ever monked it in this blessed, amorous town of Constance!""
— 1990, Honoré de Balzac, James Lewis May, Jean de Boschère, Ten droll tales, page 25:
"Good people, if you're ever short of a job, don't take up monking for a living."
— 2002, David Pownall, Plays two - Volume 2, →ISBN, page 41:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ prayed silently in the monastery early every morning for peace.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The wise old ____ spent his entire life studying ancient religious texts and teaching the local villagers about the importance of kindness.