Hermit

You hear about hermits more often than you meet one, and that’s because a hermit is someone who likes to be alone, far from people, sometimes because of their religious beliefs or maybe because they simply want some privacy.

Hermits like living solo, alone in the woods, up in a mountain, or sometimes they live in a city without hardly ever leaving their apartment. The root of the word is the Greek erēmos, meaning “solitary.” A life of solitude isn’t for everyone, but a hermit chooses it for any number of reasons. For example, being able to honor their religious beliefs more fully or hating all of humanity are two possible motivations to become a hermit.

Definitions ofhermit

none retired from society for religious reasons

Synonyms:: anchorite

Type of:: eremite

a Christian recluse

none who lives in solitude

Synonyms:: recluse, solitary, solitudinarian, troglodyte

Examples:: St. John the Baptist

(New Testament) a preacher and hermit and forerunner of Jesus (whom he baptized); was beheaded by Herod at the request of Salome

Type of:: lone hand, lone wolf, loner

Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics

ˌhəːmɪˈnjuːtɪks/

noun

noun: hermeneutics

the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts.

hermeneutic

ˌhəːmɪˈnjuːtɪk/

noun

plural noun: hermeneutics

a method or theory of interpretation.

Origin

late 17th century: from Greek hermēneutikos, from hermēneuein ‘interpret’.

Hermetic?

Word of the Day : June 24, 2016

hermetic

adjective her-MET-ik

Definition

1 : relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness : recondite

2 a : airtight

b : impervious to external influence

c : recluse, solitary

Examples

The infomercial claimed that the new containers used modern technology to guarantee a hermetic seal that would keep food fresh for months.

“Later, as Western Europe welcomed foreign guest workers, Central Europe remained in the hermetic enclosure of Soviet rule.” — Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

Hermetic derives from Greek via the Medieval Latin word hermeticus. When it first entered English in the early 17th century, hermetic was associated with writings attributed to Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. Thoth, whom the Greeks called Hermes Trismegistus (“thrice-great Hermes”), was believed to be the author of a number of mystical, philosophical, and alchemistic works. The obscure subject matter of these works may have made them difficult to wade through, for soon English speakers were also applying hermetic to things that were beyond ordinary human comprehension. Additionally, Hermes Trismegistus was said to have invented a magic seal that could keep vessels airtight. Hermetic thus came to mean “airtight,” both literally and figuratively. These days, it can also sometimes mean “solitary.”