poustinia

P3O1U1S1T1I1N1I1A1

noun

In Christian spirituality, a small sparsely furnished cabin or room where a person goes to fast and pray, but which is less austere than a hermitage.

Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounpoustinia (plural poustinias)

plural poustinias

  1. In Christian spirituality, a small sparsely furnished cabin or room where a person goes to fast and pray, but which is less austere than a hermitage.
    1 more example

    Yes, that "doing something more" can be the poustinia: an entry into the desert, a lonely place, a silent place, where one can lift the two arms of prayer and penance to God in atonement, intercession, reparation for one's sins and those of one's brothers.... To go into the poustinia means to listen to God. It means entering into kenosis—the emptying of oneself.

    1975, Catherine Doherty, Poustinia

Origin

  1. Russianпусты́ня“desert”
  2. Englishpoustinia

From the Russian пусты́ня (pustýnja, “desert”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

poustinia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poustinia

MLA

“poustinia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poustinia. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poustinia,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poustinia.

Source: poustinia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.