convent

[kon-vent, -vuh nt] /ˈkɒn vɛnt, -vənt/
noun
1.
a community of persons devoted to religious life under a superior.
2.
a society or association of monks, friars, or nuns: now usually used of a society of nuns.
3.
the building or buildings occupied by such a society; a monastery or nunnery.
4.
Obsolete. assembly; meeting.
Origin
1175-1225; < Medieval Latin conventus; Latin: assembly, coming together, equivalent to conven(īre) (see convene) + -tus suffix of v. action; replacing Middle English covent < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin, as above
Synonyms
1. abbey, priory. 3. cloister.
Examples from the web for convent
  • The convent is located in a great mansion enclosed by a park and approached by an avenue lined by trees.
  • She devised false doctrines, he charged, and defied orders to stay in her convent and not teach.
  • We didn't ascend to the hilltop convent for views of the city.
  • She grew up in a mansion and was educated in a convent.
  • Generally speaking, nuns are allowed to leave the convent and stop wearing scarves.
  • They remained in the convent for which they were commissioned until now.
  • However, outside the convent and its commitment to prayer and simple living was the world of the market-place.
  • Grandma's family, in accordance with their tradition, put her in a convent.
  • Along with a couple of years at a convent school, that seems to have been her education.
  • convent and continuity-these were two concepts that definitely did not go together.
British Dictionary definitions for convent

convent

/ˈkɒnvənt/
noun
1.
a building inhabited by a religious community, usually of nuns
2.
the religious community inhabiting such a building
3.
Also called convent school. a school in which the teachers are nuns
Word Origin
C13: from Old French covent, from Latin conventus meeting, from convenīre to come together; see convene
Word Origin and History for convent
n.

c.1200, covent, cuvent, from Anglo-French covent, from Old French convent, from Latin conventus "assembly," used in Medieval Latin for "religious house," originally past participle of convenire "come together" (see convene). Not exclusively feminine until 18c. The form with restored Latin -n- emerged early 15c. The Middle English form remains in London's Covent Garden district (notorious late 18c. for brothels), so called because it had been the garden of a defunct monastery.

COVENT GARDEN ABBESS. A bawd.
COVENT GARDEN AGUE. The venereal diſeaſe.
["Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796]

convent in Culture

convent definition


A community of people in a religious order, especially nuns.