coenobium
/siˈnoʊ.bi.əm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A conventual or monastic community; also, a convent or monastery.
Example Sentences
- "[T]his profeſſion of a ſingle life vvas propagated in Egypt by Antony, and in Syria by Hilarion; and ſpred ſo faſt, that ſoon after the time of Julian the Apoſtate a third part of Egyptians vvere got into the deſarts of Egypt. They lived firſt ſingly in cells, then aſſociated into cœnobia or convents; and at length came into tovvns, and filled the Churches vvith Biſhops, Presbyters and Deacons."
- "Some carts are entirely filled with representatives of the Church, but these are jolly, portly fellows, who pay loyally, and hasten to secure the most delicate fare for the table of their different cœnobiums."
- "[A]fter I had passed thirty years living in a cœnobium, I rejoice that I have also spent twenty more, so that I can never be accused of sloth among those who tried it in a half-hearted way."
- "There were the cenobia, or monasteries proper, where the life was according to the lines laid down by St Basil; and there were the lauras, wherein a semi-eremitical life was followed, the monks living in separate huts within the enclosure."
- "Sometimes it [the church] is called Martyrium, when raised in honour of any Martyr; somes capella, (chapel,) … sometimes caenobium, at others sacrificium; sometimes sacellum; sometimes the House of Prayer; sometimes monastery; sometimes oratory."
- "The Encomiast refers to St. Bertin's and St. Omer's as monasteria (II, 21, I and II) and caenobia (ibid., 15). […] The words monasterium and caenobium are, however, both freely used in medieval Latin in the sense 'collegiate church'."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin coenobium (“cloister, convent; monastery”), from Koine Greek κοινόβιον (koinóbion, “life in community; monastery”), the neuter form of κοινόβιος (koinóbios, “communal living”), from Ancient Greek κοινός (koinós, “common, shared”) + βίος (bíos, “life”). Doublet of coenoby. The plural form coenobia is borrowed from Late Latin coenobia.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /siˈnoʊ.bi.əm/
- British English: /siːˈnəʊ.bɪ.əm/