Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Anchoret \An"cho*ret\, Anchorite \An"cho*rite\, n. [F.
   anachor[`e]te, L. anachoreta, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to go back,
   retire; ? + ? to give place, retire, ? place; perh. akin to
   Skr. h[=a] to leave. Cf. {Anchor} a hermit.]
   One who renounces the world and secludes himself, usually for
   religious reasons; a hermit; a recluse. [Written by some
   authors {anachoret}.]

         Our Savior himself . . . did not choose an anchorite's
         or a monastic life, but a social and affable way of
         conversing with mortals.                 --Boyle.

Anchorite \An"cho*rite\, n.
   Same as {Anchoret}.

Source : WordNet®

anchorite
     n : one retired from society for religious reasons [syn: {hermit}]