hermit

English

Alternative forms

• eremite, heremit, heremite (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English hermite, heremite, eremite, from Old French eremite, from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin eremita, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs, “person of the desert”) from ἐρημία (erēmía, “desert, solitude”), from ἔρημος (érēmos) or ἐρῆμος (erêmos, “uninhabited”) plus -ίτης (-ítēs, “one connected to, a member of”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɝmɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)mɪt

Noun

hermit (plural hermits)

1. A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.
2. A recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship.
3. A spiced cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.
4. A hermit crab.
   • 2016, Vicki Judah, ‎Kathy Nuttall, Exotic Animal Care and Management (page 279)

     Because hermits are decapods and do not live within their own shells, they are not considered to be true crabs.

5. A hummingbird in the subfamily Phaethornithinae.

Synonyms

In the sense of hermit:

• anchorite
• eremite
• recluse

• See also Thesaurus:recluse

Derived terms

Derived terms

• hermitage
• hermit crab
• hermitize
• hermit kingdom

• hermitness
• hermit thrush
• hermitty
• hermit warbler

Translations

religious recluse; eremite

• Arabic: راهب
• Armenian: անապատական (hy) (anapatakan), ճգնավոր (hy) (čgnavor)
• Bulgarian: отшелник (bg) m (otšelnik)
• Catalan: ermità (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 隐士 (zh) (yǐnshì)

• Czech: poustevník (cs) m
• Dutch: kluizenaar (nl) m
• Esperanto: ermito
• Finnish: erakko (fi)
• French: ermite (fr) m or f, ermitane (fr) f
• Galician: eremita m or f, ermitán m, ermitá f, anacoreta m or f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Einsiedler (de) m, Eremit (de) m
• Greek: ερημίτης (el) m (erimítis)

  Ancient: ἐρημίτης m (erēmítēs)

• Hungarian: remete (hu)
• Icelandic: einsetumaður m, einsetumunkur m
• Indonesian: resi (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: ancaire m
• Italian: eremita (it) m, anacoreta (it) m
• Japanese: 仙人 (ja) (sennin)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: inclūsus m
• Maori: eremita
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: eremitt
• Persian: راهب (fa)
• Polish: pustelnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: eremita (pt) m or f, ermitão (pt) m
• Russian: отше́льник (ru) m (otšélʹnik)
• Scottish Gaelic: aonaran m
• Slovak: pustovník (sk) m
• Spanish: ermitaño (es) m
• Swedish: eremit (sv) c
• Thai: นักบวช (th) (nák-bùuat)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

recluse; someone who lives alone

• Armenian: անապատական (hy) (anapatakan), ճգնավոր (hy) (čgnavor)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: poustevník (cs) m
• Dutch: kluizenaar (nl) m
• Esperanto: dezertulo
• Finnish: erakko (fi)
• French: ermite (fr) m or f
• Greek: ερημίτης (el) m (erimítis)
• Hungarian: remete (hu)
• Icelandic: einsetumaður m
• Irish: ancaire m
• Italian: eremita (it) m
• Japanese: 仙人 (ja) (sennin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: inclūsus m
• Maori: moke, moke
• Persian: گوشه‌گیر (guše-gir)
• Polish: samotnik (pl) m, odludek (pl) m
• Portuguese: eremita (pt) m or f, ermitão (pt) m
• Russian: отше́льник (ru) m (otšélʹnik)
• Scottish Gaelic: aonaran m
• Spanish: ermitaño (es) m
• Swedish: enstöring (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

cookie

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

hermit crab — see hermit crab

bird

• Finnish: erakkokolibri (fi)
• Navajo: tsintah dahiitį́hii
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: ermitaño (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Anachoret (de) m, ^{(please verify)} Klausner (de) m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} eremita (it) m, ^{(please verify)} anacoreta (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} pustinjak (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} otšelnik m

See also

• monachos
• monk

Anagrams

• mither