Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a contemplative monastic order founded by reformist Benedictines in France in 1098.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A member of an order of monks and nuns which takes its name from its original convent, C îteaux (Cistercium), near Dijon, in France, where the society was founded in 1098 by Robert, abbot of Molesme, under the rule of St. Benedict.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Eccl.) A monk of the prolific branch of the Benedictine Order, established in 1098 at Cîteaux, in France, by Robert, abbot of Molesme. For two hundred years the Cistercians followed the rule of St. Benedict in all its rigor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A member of a monastic order, related to the Benedictines, who hold a vow of silence

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun member of an order of monks noted for austerity and a vow of silence

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French Cistertien, from Medieval Latin Cistercium, Cîteaux, a village of eastern France, site of an abbey.]

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