culdee means one of a class of anchorites who lived in various parts of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales in the Middle Ages. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
culdee is pronounced /kʌlˈdiː/.
Why “culdee” is a great word
One of a class of anchorites who lived in various parts of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales in the Middle Ages. From Old Irish céile Dé ("servant of God"), a calque of Latin servus Deī. Unlike "anchorite" (a general term for any religious recluse) or "monk" (implying a structured, communal life under a formal rule), a Culdee denotes the solitary or loosely-organized ascetic of the distinct Celtic Christian tradition. It is the grey shape in a beehive cell on a Skellig rock, the worn Psalter in a damp oratory, the Latin chant lost in the crash of Atlantic waves—a stubborn flame of devotion flickering at the edge of a darkening world.
Etymology
From Old Irish céile Dé (“servant of God”), a calque of Latin servus Deī.
noun
- One of a class of anchorites who lived in various parts of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales in the Middle Ages.“The pure Culdees were Albyn's earliest priests of God.”
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