Sentence:  There were the cenobia, or monasteries proper, where the life was according to the lines laid down by St Basil; and there were the <WSD>lauras</WSD>, wherein a semi-eremitical life was followed, the monks living in separate huts within the enclosure. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the centre.