hermitage

1 of 2

noun (1)

her·​mit·​age ˈhər-mə-tij How to pronounce hermitage (audio)
1
a
: the habitation of a hermit
b
: a secluded residence or private retreat : hideaway
c
2
: the life or condition of a hermit

Hermitage

2 of 2

noun (2)

Her·​mi·​tage ˌ(h)er-mi-ˈtäzh How to pronounce Hermitage (audio)
: a red or white Rhone valley wine

Examples of hermitage in a Sentence

Noun (1) On weekends he escapes to his hermitage in the mountains. the artist's desert hermitage was a small adobe house at the end of a long dusty road
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Neither Stukeley’s hermitage nor Queen Caroline’s boasted a hermit-in-residence. Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 26 July 2023 According to Campbell, garden hermitages originated in southern Europe, likely during the Italian Renaissance. Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2023 While medieval hermitages were used chiefly for religious purposes, English garden hermitages were decorative (a type of architecture known as garden follies), incorporating natural elements like tree roots or drawing inspiration from rustic, pastoral designs. Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2023 The novel’s narrator, a botanist, lives there in a hermitage, working with his brother to catalogue the flora of the region. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023 From the Mirador de Sant Joan at the top of the funicular, hikers can choose from several routes of varying difficulty that lead to different hermitages in the mountains. Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023 So large has Merton’s influence been on Brandt that the latter even named his hermitage Merton House. Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 8 Sep. 2022 There was no one who contended or cried out, or drew attention to what was going on, but by degrees the woody swamp became a hermitage, a religious house, a farm, an abbey, a village, a seminary, a school of learning, and a city. Andrew Doran, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022 But for Fellowship followers, the public gardens that SRF founder Paramahansa Yogananda established in 1937 (along with the adjacent hermitage, retreat and ashram) offer much more. Sophy Chaffee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hermitage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

Tain-l'Ermitage, commune in France

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1680, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hermitage was in the 14th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near hermitage

hermit

hermitage

Hermitage

Cite this Entry

“Hermitage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermitage. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hermitage

noun
her·​mit·​age ˈhər-mət-ij How to pronounce hermitage (audio)
: a hermit's home
also : a residence screened or hidden from view : retreat

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