A monk may be conveniently defined as a member of a community of
men, leading a more or less contemplative life apart from the
world, under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience,
according to a rule characteristic of the particular order to
which he belongs. The word monk is not itself a term commonly
used in the official language of the Church. It is a popular
rather than a scientific designation, but is at the same time
very ancient, so much so that its origin cannot be precisely
determined. So far as regards the English form of the word, that
undoubtedly comes from the Anglo-Saxon munuc, which has in turn
arisen from the Latin monachus, a mere transliteration of the
Greek monachos. This Greek form is commonly believed to be
connected with monos, lonely or single, and is suggestive of a
life of solitude; but we cannot lose sight of the fact that the
word mone, from a different root, seems to have been freely
used, e.g. by Palladius, as well as monasterion, in the sense of
a religious house (see Butle