Relating to or resembling a cloister, especially a convent or monastery where religious people live in seclusion.
From Middle English cloister (from Old French cloistre, Latin claustrum meaning 'enclosed place') plus the adjectival suffix -al. The root Latin claustrum comes from claudere 'to close,' reflecting the enclosed nature of these religious communities.
The word 'claustrum' literally means 'closed place' in Latin—the same root gives us 'claustrophobic!' Cloisters were designed specifically to close off monks and nuns from the distracting outside world, making the architecture and the word deeply connected to the idea of isolation.
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