monk - a male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and workBrother - (Roman Catholic Church) a title given to a monk and used as form of address; "a Benedictine Brother" religious - a member of a religious order who is bound by vows of poverty and chastity and obedience Cistercian, Trappist - member of an order of monks noted for austerity and a vow of silence Roger Bacon, Bacon - English scientist and Franciscan monk who stressed the importance of experimentation; first showed that air is required for combustion and first used lenses to correct vision (1220-1292) Gregor Mendel, Johann Mendel, Mendel - Augustinian monk and botanist whose experiments in breeding garden peas led to his eventual recognition as founder of the science of genetics (1822-1884) |