Hermit Means Someone of the Desert
A hermit lives in solitude. The Greek word means desert-dweller, from the Egyptian ascetics who began the tradition.
A hermit is a person who lives in solitude, usually for religious reasons. The word records where the practice began: Greek *eremites* means of the desert, from *eremos*, deserted. The tradition started with Christian ascetics in the Egyptian desert in the third century, and the word carried the geography with it into every European language.
- A religious solitary. *A desert hermit.*
- A reclusive person. *Living like a hermit.*
- Hermit crab — a crab occupying an empty shell. *A hermit crab.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | hermit | An old hermit. |
| Plural | hermits | Desert hermits. |
| Noun | hermitage | A hillside hermitage. |
| Adjective | hermitic | A hermitic life. |
| Related | anchorite | A walled anchorite. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The hermit lived in a cave.Religious solitude.
- A hermitage is where a hermit lives.Also a famous museum in St Petersburg.
- Hermit crabs borrow shells.They do not grow their own.
Kinds of religious solitary
- Hermit — lives apart, often able to move about
- Anchorite — enclosed permanently, often in a cell attached to a church
- Cenobite — lives in a religious community, the opposite of a hermit
- Stylite — lived atop a pillar, a Syrian tradition
- Desert Fathers — the Egyptian ascetics who began the movement
From Late Latin *eremita*, from Greek *eremites*, of the desert, from *eremos*, uninhabited.
Hermit or anchorite?
A hermit lives apart and can travel. An anchorite is permanently enclosed, traditionally in a cell attached to a church.
Why is a crab called a hermit?
Because it lives alone inside a borrowed shell, occupying a space it did not build.