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minster

UK/ˈmɪnstə/US/ˈmɪnstɚ/
nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,520 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: minsters

A minster is a large church, often one that began as a monastery. York Minster.

It is not a rank, since a minster may or may not be a cathedral. The word is the same as monastery and reached English far earlier.

Steve Cadman from London, U.K. · CC BY-SA 2.0

Definitions of minster

  1. 1nounminsterA large church, often one that began as a monastery.C2

    “The minster took two hundred and fifty years to build.”

minster is a church.

Where it comes from

Old English mynster comes from Latin monasterium; it is a doublet of monastery.

  1. Old English

    mynster

  2. Middle English

    mynster

  3. English, today

    minster

From Middle English mynster (see mynisterie), from Old English mynster, from monastērium, from μοναστήριον. a doublet of monastery.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

minster in the wild

  • The minster is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.

    York Minster

  • In the 21st century, the Church of England has designated certain parish churches as minsters by bestowing both the status of the name and defined responsibilities.

    Minster (church)

  • Almost half of the minsters are found in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, with Dorset and Devon as other areas with many historic minsters.

    Minster (church)

  • Halifax Minster is the minster church of Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England.

    Halifax Minster

  • The parish church of the town, it was granted minster status in 2009.

    Halifax Minster

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.