Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: cloistre, from Latin claustrum 'bar keeping a door closed', from claudere 'to close'

cloister

 noun
     
Related topics: Christianity, Buildings
clois‧ter [countable]
1 [usually plural]TBB a covered passage that surrounds one side of a square garden in a church, monastery etc
2RRC a building where monks or nuns live
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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