Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Monk?

\Monk\, n. [AS. munuc, munec, munc, L. monachus, Gr. ?, fr. ? alone. Cf. {Monachism}.] 1. A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious community of men inhabiting a monastery, and bound by vows to a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty. ``A monk out of his cloister.'' --Chaucer. Monks in some respects agree with regulars, as in the substantial vows of religion; but in other respects monks and regulars differ; for that regulars, vows excepted, are not tied up to so strict a rule of life as monks are. --Ayliffe. 2. (Print.) A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink. 3. A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine. 4. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A South American monkey ({Pithecia monachus}); also applied to other species, as {Cebus xanthocephalus}. (b) The European bullfinch. {Monk bat} (Zo["o]l.), a South American and West Indian bat ({Molossus nasutus}); -- so called because the males live in communities by themselves. {Monk bird}(Zo["o]l.), the friar bird. {Monk seal} (Zo["o]l.), a species of seal ({Monachus albiventer}) inhabiting the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic. {Monk's rhubarb} (Bot.), a kind of dock; -- also called {patience} ({Rumex Patientia}).