stylite

noun

sty·​lite ˈstī-ˌlīt 

: a Christian ascetic living atop a pillar

stylitic

stī-ˈli-tik 

adjective

Examples of stylite in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the story about the columns, they are said to have originated with a fiery seventeenth-century preacher, but the whole notion obviously owes something to the stylites, those early Christian ascetics who lived on top of pillars in the desert. —Charles McGrath, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Late Greek stylitēs, from Greek stylos pillar — more at steer

First Known Use

circa 1638, in the meaning defined above