The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Laura \Lau"ra\, n. [LL., fr. Gr. (?) lane, defile, also, a kind
   of monastery.] (R. C. Ch.)
   A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood
   occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior. --C.
   Kingsley.
   [1913 Webster]