English
cloister
Cloister comes from Old French cloistre, from Medieval Latin claustrum ‘portion of monastery closed off to laity’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘key, hook, nail’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500claudōas claudere, derivation of past participle‘to close’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500claustrum‘portion of monastery closed off to laity’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cloistreby way of Old English clauster
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a monastery or cloister’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983cloister
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-‘key, hook, nail’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō‘to close’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500claudōas claudere, derivation of past participle‘to close’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500claustrum‘portion of monastery closed off to laity’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cloistreby way of Old English clauster
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a monastery or cloister’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983cloister
Earliest quotation: 1983, Beacon Hill: Mt Vernon St. (classified advertisement): “Unique condo cloistered on top of hill.”
The story
Recorded since about 1300 as Middle English cloistre, borrowed from Old French cloistre, clostre, or via Old English clauster, both from Medieval Latin claustrum (‘portion of monastery closed off to laity’), from Latin claustrum (‘place shut in, bar, bolt, enclosure’), a derivation of the past participle of claudere (‘to close’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘key, hook, nail’
include, cataract, conclave, subclavian, 28 more
through Proto-Italic *klaudō ‘to close’
closet, disclose, inclusiveness, enclose, 26 more
through Medieval Latin claudō ‘to close’
close, exclusive, conclusion, inclusion, inclusive, clause, closure, conclude, exclude, preclude, recluse, sluice, occlusion, cloture, 31 more
through Medieval Latin claustrum ‘portion of monastery closed off to laity’
Today it means
noun A covered walk with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that surround a quadrangle; especially: such an arcade in a monastery;
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- / cloister