claustration

Etymology

From Latin clōstra (“lock, enclosure”).

Noun

claustration (countable and uncountable, plural claustrations)

1. Shutting up or enclosing, usually in a religious cloister.
   • 1875, Henry James, Roderick Hudson, New York Edition 1909, hardcover, page 341

     He could scare find it in his heart to accuse Roderick of neglect of that function, united to him though the girl might be by a double bond; for it was natural that the inspirations of a man of genius should be both capricious and imperious, and on what plan had he ever started moreover but on that of diligence and claustration?

2. A method used by emperors to keep their harems and to guarantee their virginity.

Etymology

From claustrer +‎ -ation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klos.tʁa.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

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• Rhymes: -jɔ̃
• Homophone: claustrations

Noun

claustration f (plural claustrations)

1. confinement
2. (psychology) withdrawal

Further reading

• “claustration”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.