recluse

Etymology

From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin reclūdere, present active infinitive of reclūdō (“I disclose, I open”), from re- + claudō (“close”).

adj

1. (now rare) sequestered; secluded, isolated
   a recluse monk or hermit
2. (now rare) hidden, secret

noun

1. a person who lives in self-imposed isolation or seclusion from the world, especially for religious purposes; a hermit
   The recluse in the fable kept a cat to keep off the rats, and then a cow to feed the cat with milk, and a man to keep the cow and so on. My ambitions also grew like the family of the recluse. 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xv
2. (obsolete) the place where a recluse dwells; a place of isolation or seclusion
3. (US) a brown recluse spider

verb

1. (obsolete) to shut; to seclude