Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

   {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.