A church of a monastery. The name is often retained and applied to the church after the monastery has ceased to exist (as Beverly Minster, Southwell Minster, etc.), and is also improperly used for any large church.
1. In Christianity: Originally, the name for any monastic establishment or its church, whether a monastery proper or a house of secular canons. 2. In Midwestern vernacular, it forms part of the proper names of (especially) Presbyterian congregations.
any of certain cathedrals and large churches; originally connected to a monastery
a type of small monastery, used by monks, and sometimes with nuns
a church served by a body of canons or prebendaries; the same as a collegiate church; in the north of England the term was also used for a cathedral
originally a monastery but by late Anglo-Saxon times often simply a large and important church.
originally the church of a monastry, then became used to describe any large church. Best known example, York Minster.
Large church originally linked to a monastery
In English usage a Minster is a grand type of church; the term may be extended to apply to a cathedral, such as York Minster and Southwell Minster. Lincoln Cathedral http://vrcoll.fa.pitt.edu/medart/image/England/lincoln/Cathedral/Mainlincolncathedral.html, and Ripon Cathedral http://www.pitt.edu/~arthome/faculty/hearn/mfhripon.html, are also sometimes called by their earlier title of minster. However, when the term is used less vaguely, it is a collegiate church.
