monastery

Everyday

1. A building or group of buildings where monks live, pray and work together under religious rules. tree →
2. (history) Such a place as a centre of learning, farming and copying books in the Middle Ages. tree →

In the lessons

In history lessons, monasteries such as Lindisfarne and Iona were places where monks copied books by hand and were attacked by Vikings; Henry VIII closed many English monasteries. In religious education, monasteries exist in Christianity and in Buddhism. Phrases: «live in a monastery», «a ruined monastery», «monastery garden», «dissolution of the monasteries».

Examples

• The monks in the monastery get up early to pray. tree →
• We visited the ruins of an old monastery on the island. tree →
• Vikings attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne. tree →
• In the Middle Ages monks in the monastery copied books by hand. tree →
• There is a Buddhist monastery in the mountains of Tibet. tree →
• The monastery garden grew herbs for medicine. tree →
• Henry VIII closed the monasteries and took their land. tree →
• Planudes, however, was no mere recluse, shut up in his monastery. tree →

Note

Plural «monasteries» (y → ies). A place for monks; a place for nuns is usually a «convent» or «nunnery». «Abbey» and «priory» are kinds of monastery. Adjective: «monastic». Spelling: monast-ery (ends in -ery, not -ary).