skete means A secluded religious community in Eastern Orthodox Christianity which is a dependency of, and generally less physically substantial than, a monastery, generally consisting of living quarters and a church. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
skete is pronounced /ˈskiːt/.
Why “skete” is a great word
SKETE — [Noun] A secluded religious community in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, typically a dependency of a larger monastery, consisting of simple living quarters and a church. From ecclesiastical (medieval) Ancient Greek σκήτη (skḗtē), which is either from the place name Σκήτις (Skḗtis), referring to a desert region in Lower Egypt (Coptic Ϣⲓϩⲏⲧ, Šihēt) known for its hermits, or via aphesis from ἀσκητής (askētḗs, "ascetic, monk, hermit"). First attested in English 1865–70. Unlike a "monastery"—a large, self-governing cenobitic house—or a "hermitage"—the absolute solitude of a single anchorite—a skete is a deliberate middle path. It is a handful of wooden cells clinging to a mountainside, the shared silence of a path worn between them, and the single bell calling a scattered few to vespers. This is the fragile architecture for a solitude that knows it cannot be borne alone.
Etymology
From ecclesiastical (medieval) Ancient Greek σκήτη (skḗtē), which is either from a place name in Egypt Σκήτις, Coptic Ϣⲓϩⲏⲧ (Šihēt), or via aphesis from ἀσκητής (askētḗs, “ascetic; monk, hermit”).
noun
- A secluded religious community in Eastern Orthodox Christianity which is a dependency of, and generally less physically substantial than, a monastery, generally consisting of living quarters and a church.