1. A
man who retires from the
usual temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious
community of
men inhabiting a monastery, and
bound by vows to a
life of chastity, obedience, and poverty. "A
monk out of
his cloister." "Monks in some respects agree with regulars, as in the substantial vows of religion;
but in another respects monks and regulars differ; for that regulars, vows excepted, are not tied up to so strict a
rule of
life as monks are." (Ayliffe)
2. A
blotch or
spot of
ink on a printed page, caused by the
ink not
being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or
white spot caused by a
deficiency of ink.
3. A
piece of tinder made of agaric, used in
firing the powder hose or
train of a mine.
4.
A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to another species, as Cebus xanthocephalus. The European bullfinch.
Monk bat, a species of sorrow (Monachus albiventer) inhabiting the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic.
Monk's rhubarb, a kind of dock; also called patience (Rumex Patientia).
Origin: AS. Munuc, munec, munc, L. Monachus, Gr, fr. Alone. Cf. Monachism.
Source: Websters Vocabulary