recluse

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹɪˈkluːs/, /ˈɹɛkluːs/; /ɹɪˈklus/, /ˈɹɛklus/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English,^[2][3] from Old French reclus (“shut up; hermit”),^{[2][4][5][3][6]} from Late Latin reclūsus, the past participle of reclūdere “to shut up”,^{[2][4][5][3][6]} from re- and claudere “to shut”.^{[2][4][5][3][6]} In classical Latin reclūdere meant “to open”.^[5] It is related to close.^[4][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person shut up or withdrawn from the world for religious meditation (probably before 1200).^[4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

A recluse was originally a religious person enclosed in a cell or community.^[5][6] By the late 17th century the word had a secular, softened sense: someone who lives a retired life and mixes little in society.^[5]

Timeline

• probably before 1200 – a religious recluse; adjective, shut up.^[4][5]
• 1382 – verb, to shut up.^[7]
• 1599 – reclusive.^[4]
• late 17th century – one who lives a retired life.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who lives withdrawn from society, often alone; a hermit.

Adjective

1. Withdrawn from society; solitary or reclusive.

Word family

• reclusive
• reclusively
• reclusiveness
• reclusion

Related words

• seclude
• close

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press