- cloister (n.)
- early 13c., from Old French cloistre "monastery, convent" (12c., Modern French cloître) or Old English clauster, both from Medieval Latin claustrum "portion of monastery closed off to laity," from Latin claustrum "place shut in, enclosure; bar, bolt, means of shutting in," from past participle stem of claudere (see close (v.)). Sense of "enclosed space" extended to "place of religious seclusion."
- cloister (v.)
- c.1400 (implied in cloistered), from cloister (n.). Related: Cloistered; cloistering.