Meanings
plural cenobites · alternative coenobite · alternative cœnobite
- A monk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude.
1 more example
To deprive a gregarious creature of companionship is to maim it, to outrage its nature. The prisoner and the cenobite are aware that the herd exists beyond their exile; they are an aspect of it. But when the herd no longer exists, there is, for the herd creature, no longer entity. He is a part of no whole, a freak without a place.
1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 208 - fictionA torturous demon creature made famous by the Hellraiser series.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekκοινόβιον“community life, convent”
- Ecclesiastical Latincoenobīta
- Old Frenchcenobite
- Englishcenobite
From Old French cenobite or Ecclesiastical Latin coenobīta, from coenobium, from Ancient Greek κοινόβιον (koinóbion, “community life, convent”), from κοινός (koinós, “common”) + βίος (bíos, “life”).
More words from Old French, Ecclesiastical Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek κοινοβιάτης
- κοινοβιάτης (koinobiátēs)monk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Catalan cenobita
- cenobitamonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Dutch cenobiet mkloosterling
- cenobiet mkloosterlingmonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
French cénobite
- cénobitemonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Greek κοινοβίτης, κοινοβιάτης
- κοινοβίτης (koinovítis)monk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
- κοινοβιάτης (koinoviátis)monk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Italian cenobita
- cenobitamonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Polish cenobita
- cenobitamonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Portuguese cenobita
- cenobitamonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Russian кинови́т
- кинови́т (kinovít)monk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Spanish cenobita
- cenobitamonk who lives in a religious community, rather than in solitude
Cite this entry
cenobite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cenobite
“cenobite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cenobite. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cenobite,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cenobite.
Source: cenobite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.