Skip to main content
Augustinian order

Augustinian order

1 8.1
A group of Catholic monks and priests who follow Saint Augustine's teachings
  • noun
  • /ɔːˈɡʌstɪnɪən ˈɔrdər/
translation icon : orden agustiniana
  • Saint Augustine is the spiritual father of the Augustinian order, influencing its teachings and practices.

Examples

  • Martin Luther, in the name of Christ, I release you from your vows to the Augustinian order and commend you to God's mercy.

  • The Augustinian order was known for its focus on education and the teaching of theology.

  • Members of the Augustinian order dedicate their lives to prayer and community service.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Augustinian + order

The phrase denotes a religious order associated with St. Augustine and is directly compositional from 'Augustinian' (relating to Augustine) + 'order' (a formal religious community). This head‑modifier pattern is common cross‑linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Augustinian order takes its name from Saint Augustine, a church leader whose 'rule' and teachings guided groups of religious people. These communities lived and prayed together following his ideas, so an Augustinian order means a religious group that follows Augustine's way of life.