Usage Note
Couvent covers both convents (for nuns) and monasteries (for monks) in French, with context or an added word clarifying which. Entrer au couvent means 'to enter religious life.' Note the final 't' is silent. The related verb couver means 'to brood' or 'to hatch,' but the two words are unrelated in origin.
Examples
"Le couvent date du treizième siècle."
Natural Translation
The convent dates from the thirteenth century.

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