noun
- a hermit or recluse, especially one under a religious vow.
noun
- a Christian hermit or recluseCompare coenobite
c.1200, learned form of hermit (q.v.), from Church Latin eremita. Since mid-17c. in poetic or rhetorical use only, except in reference to specific examples in early Church history. Related: Eremitic; eremitical.