- Hermit crab
- 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.
[1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
2. A beadsman; one bound to pray for another. [Obs.] ``We rest your hermits.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. (Cookery) A spiced molasses cookie, often containing chopped raisins and nuts. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.