Lit. 'settler in the wilds'. One of the four kinds of monk, as described in an AS version of the rule of St Benedict. According to that rule, these hermits or anchorites were experienced in religious life and were not full of a beginner's fervour. Through probation in a monastery they learned with the help of others to fight the devil, and were well prepared for 'the single-handed combat of the wilderness . . . against the vices of the flesh and their evil thoughts'. [< OldEngl. westen = waste, wilds + setla = settler] -
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.