cloister
Convent's covered walk
A cloister is a covered walkway around a courtyard, especially in a monastery or convent, with arched openings on one side.
By extension, cloister refers to any place of religious seclusion or monastic life itself: She entered the cloister at nineteen.
To cloister is to seclude or shelter from the outside world: He cloistered himself in his study.
A cloistered life suggests withdrawal from worldly concerns, whether literal or figurative.
Monastic house of worship
Arched passageway or gaming hall
- colonnadeRow supporting a roof
- courtyardEnclosed open-air space
- quadrangleFour-sided figure or courtyard
- ambulatoryAble to walk
gallery · garth · vault · arch · buttress · tracery · cloistral · peristyle
Focused attention practice
- prayerAddress to deity
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
silence · stillness · solitude · devotion · vespers · compline · vigil · asceticism
abbey
Monastic house of worship
nunnery · monk · nun · novice · abbot · abbess · order · habit · vows · scriptorium
arcade
Arched passageway or gaming hall
- colonnadeRow supporting a roof
- courtyardEnclosed open-air space
- quadrangleFour-sided figure or courtyard
ambulatory · gallery · garth · vault · arch · buttress · tracery · cloistral · peristyle · walkway
meditation
Focused attention practice
- prayerAddress to deity
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
contemplation · silence · stillness · solitude · devotion · vespers · compline · vigil · asceticism · piety
withdrawal
Act of taking away
- isolationComplete separation from others
- retreatSanctuary or withdrawal
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
recluse · hermit · solitude · privacy · sequester · shelter · hideaway · remove · detach · separate
refuge
Place of safety
shelter · sanctum · respite · escape · protection · peace · tranquility · serenity · calm · repose
- Abbeyabbey church, chapter house, refectory, scriptorium
- architectureEiffel Tower, buildings, architects, design, thatching
- churchnave, pew, pews, altar, altars
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- Middle AgesMiddle Ages, medieval period, castles, knights, Dark Ages
- building partsfacades, wall, door, windows, floor
cloisteropen space
Unobstructed outdoor area
public square · plaza · agora · forum · commons
cloistersecular life
Non-spiritual way of living
worldliness · public life · marketplace · society · bustle
cloisterpublic sphere
Realm of civic discourse
crowd · throng · marketplace · bazaar · town square
- cloistered lifeSecluded religious existence
- cloistered nunsReligious women in seclusion