also coenobite, "member of a communal religious order," 1630s, from Church Latin coenobita "a cloister brother," from coenobium "a convent," from Greek koinobion "life in community, monastery," from koinos "common" (see coeno-) + bios "life," from PIE root *gwei- "to live." Related: Cenobitic; cenobitical.