n. 1 an early Christian recluse. 2 any person living in solitude. hermit-crab any crab of the family Paguridae that lives in a cast-off mollusc shell for protection. hermit thrush a migratory n. American thrush, Catharus guttatus. hermitic adj.
[ ME f. OF (h)ermite or f. LL eremita f. Gk eremites f. eremia desert f. eremos solitary ]