n. & v.
--n.
1. a covered walk, often with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other, esp. in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral.
2 monastic life or seclusion.
3 a convent or monastery.
--v.tr. seclude or shut up usu. in a convent or monastery.
Derivatives:
cloistral adj.
Etymology: ME f. OF cloistre f. L claustrum, clostrum lock, enclosed place f. claudere claus- CLOSE(2)