Etymologically
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monk

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mʌŋk/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English munk, inherited from Old English munuc,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Vulgar Latin *monicus, taken early into Germanic as Proto-Germanic *muniko-, the source also of Old Frisian munek, Middle Dutch monic and Old High German munih (modern German Mönch).[3][4] The Vulgar Latin word is a form of Late Latin monachus (“monk, originally a religious hermit”),[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós, “monk”), in classical Greek an adjective meaning solitary,[2][3][4] from μόνος (mónos, “alone”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small, isolated”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a religious brotherhood living apart: Old English munuc, before 899, in Alfred's translation of Bede;[2][6] it was used of women too.[3]

Semantic evolution

The first monks of the Church were men who withdrew from the world to meditate and practise religion in solitude,[3] and the Greek word was early applied to monks living in communities.[4] Black, white and grey monks, named for the colour of their habits, are from about 1290.[6] Animals whose form suggests a monk's costume were given the name from 1789,[6] and in 1843 monk was colloquial for monkey.[6] Monkish, monkery and monkshood are from the 16th century.[4]

Timeline

  • before 899 – munuc, a monk.[2]
  • before 1121 – munec.[2]
  • before 1300 – the spelling monk.[2]
  • 16th century – monkish, monkshood.[4]
  • 1843 – monk, a monkey.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A man who belongs to a religious brotherhood living in a monastery, bound by vows such as poverty, chastity and obedience.
  2. A fancy pigeon with a bald head and often large feathered feet.

Word family

  • monkery
  • monkish
  • monkshood
  • monk parakeet
  • monk seal
  • monastery
  • monastic
  • monasticism
  • monarch
  • mono-
  • nun

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press