What is "hermit"

Hermit \Her"mit\, n. [OE. ermite, eremite, heremit, heremite, F. hermite, ermite, L. eremita, Gr. ?, fr. ? lonely, solitary. Cf. Eremite.]

1. A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an anchoret; especially, one who so lives from religious motives.

   He had been Duke of Savoy, and after a very glorious reign, took on him the habit of a hermit, and retired into this solitary spot.
   --Addison.

2. A beadsman; one bound to pray for another. [Obs.] ``We rest your hermits.''
   --Shak.

3. (Cookery) A spiced molasses cookie, often containing chopped raisins and nuts.

   Hermit crab (Zo["o]l.), a marine decapod crustacean of the family Pagurid[ae]. The species are numerous, and belong to many genera. Called also soldier crab. The hermit crabs usually occupy the dead shells of various univalve mollusks. See Illust. of Commensal.

   Hermit thrush (Zo["o]l.), an American thrush ( Turdus Pallasii), with retiring habits, but having a sweet song.

   Hermit warbler (Zo["o]l.), a California wood warbler ( Dendroica occidentalis), having the head yellow, the throat black, and the back gray, with black streaks.

early 12c., "religious recluse," from Old French (h)eremite, from Late Latin ermita, from Greek eremites, literally "person of the desert," from eremia "desert, solitude," from eremos "uninhabited, empty, desolate, bereft," from PIE *ere- (2) "to separate" (cognates: Latin rete "net," Lithuanian retis "sieve"). Transferred sense of "person living in solitude" is from 1799. The hermit crab (1735) was so called for its solitary habits.

n. 1 A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite. 2 A recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship. 3 A spiced cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.

1. n. one retired from society for religious reasons [syn: anchorite]

2. one who lives in solitude [syn: recluse, solitary, solitudinarian, troglodyte]

A hermit ( adjectival form: eremitic or hermitic) is a person who lives in seclusion from society.

Hermit (1864–1890), sometimes known, incorrectly as "The Hermit", was a 19th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from April 1866 until July 1869 he ran 23 times and won eight races. He was a leading two-year-old in 1866 and won the 1867 Epsom Derby, despite breaking down in training shortly before the race. He continued to race until the age of five, but never recovered his form after running three times in three days at Doncaster in September 1867. After his retirement he had a long and highly successful career at stud.

Hermit is the second studio album by recording artist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal released in January 1997.

The hermits are tropical and subtropical hummingbirds in the subfamily Phaethornithinae, comprising 30–40 species in six genera. They occur from southern Mexico, through Central America, to South America as far south as northern Argentina.

Their plumage typically involves greens, browns, rufous or grey. Most species show some green or bronze iridescence to the upperparts, but this is far less conspicuous than that of many other hummingbirds. The male and female plumages of hermits are very similar, with differences limited to details of bill-shape, tail-shape and/or strength of colours/patterns. Most species of hermit do not show the strong sexual dimorphism usually associated with hummingbirds; green hermit is an exception to this rule.

Hermits in the type genus, Phaethornis, have a long decurved bill (three species, P. koepkeae, P. philippii and P. bourcieri, with virtually straight bills) with a red or yellow base to the lower mandible, and their two central tail feathers are elongated and tipped with white, buff or ochre. The crown of the head is flat, and two pale facial stripes enclose a dusky mask.

Most hermits are restricted to the edge and undergrowth of forest, woodland and second growth, but some species (e.g. the planalto hermit) also occur in more open habitats.

Many species of hermits form leks and congregate on traditional display grounds, where females visit to choose a mate. Male hermits are generally less aggressive than other male hummingbirds, although both sexes will defend a feeding territory.

Most hermits are associated with heliconias, but will utilize other nectar sources (flowers of Centropogon, Passiflora, Costus, etc.). To a lesser degree, they will capture small arthropods. The long, decurved bills typical of this group of hummingbirds are an adaptation to certain flowers. This is taken to an extreme in the two sicklebills ( Eutoxeres spp.) with their very decurved bills. Many species, including the rufous-breasted hermit, also use the heliconias for nesting, attaching their conical nest to the underside of one of the plant's broad leaves.

The taxonomy of some groups has changed significantly in recent years. Apart from those issues discussed at Phaethornis, a taxonomic problem occurs with the Threnetes leucurus/ T. niger complex. Schuchmann & Hinkelmann (1999) considered the sooty barbthroat a melanistic variant of the T. leucurus, but as it was described first, its scientific name was adopted for the entire species; pale-tailed barbthroat (T. niger). This, however, has not been accepted by all authorities, notably SACC, which consider both T. niger and T. leucurus as valid species. Additionally, Mallet-Rodrigues (2006) suggested the taxon loehkeni should be considered a valid species, the bronze-tailed barbthroat.

Three additional species, the tooth-billed hummingbird (Androdon aequatorialis), the green-fronted lancebill (Doryfera ludovicae) and the blue-fronted lancebill (D. johannae), have been included in this subfamily in the past, but are now placed in Trochilinae.

A hermit is a person who lives in seclusion from society.

Hermit may also refer to

• Hermit, a type of spiced cookie
• Hermit (horse), English thoroughbred
• Hermit (hummingbird), the hummingbird subfamily Phaethornithinae
• Hermit Island (disambiguation)
• Hermit Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
• Hermit language, an extinct language that was spoken in Papua New Guinea
• Hermit Trail, a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
• Hermit, a class in the online role-playing game MapleStory
• The Hermit (Tarot card), a trump card in Tarot
• The Hermit is also the name of a painting (also referred to as "View in Half" or "Varying Light" and attributed to Barrington Colby) used on the inner sleeve of the 1971 Led Zeppelin album Led Zeppelin IV.
• The Hermit (band), a Canadian band
• The Hermit (novel), a novel by Eugène Ionesco
• The Hermit, a 1976 studio album by English folk musician John Renbourn
• Hermit (album), a studio album by Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
• Hermit House, an example of vernacular architecture in Herzliya, Israel