cloister - Word for the Day

cloister · 'kloi-st&r · noun

1 a) : a monastic establishment b) : an area within a monastery or convent to which the religious are normally restricted c) : monastic life d) : a place or state of seclusion

2 : a covered passage on the side of a court usually having one side walled and the other an open arcade or colonnade

Etymology: Middle English cloistre, from Old French, from Medieval Latin claustrum, from Latin: 'bar,' 'bolt;' from claudere to close – compare close