\Min"ster\, n. [AS. mynster, fr. L. monasterium. See {Monastery}.] (Arch.) 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. {Minster house}, the official house in which the canons of a cathedral live in common or in rotation. --Shipley.