abbot

[ ab-uht ]
See synonyms for abbot on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a man who is the head or superior, usually elected, of a monastery.

Origin of abbot

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, variant of abbat, from Latin abbāt- (stem of abbās ), from Greek, from Aramaic abbā; replacing Middle English, Old English abbod (compare Old High German abbat ), from Late Latin abbād- for abbāt-; cf. Abba1

Other words from abbot

  • ab·bot·cy, ab·bot·ship, noun
  • sub·ab·bot, noun

Words Nearby abbot

Other definitions for Abbot (2 of 2)

Abbot
[ ab-uht ]

noun
  1. Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, U.S. astrophysicist.

  2. Also Abbott. a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abbot in a sentence

  • abbot was nothing of a courtier, and, indeed, no very pleasant-natured man.

  • The High Church party were then in the ascendant, and abbot, from various causes, declined from favour.

  • Garnache took the abbot by the sleeve of his rough habit and drew him gently towards the window.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • Unbidden, the abbot had gone forward through the great doorway and down the gallery that led to the hall of Condillac.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • But the abbot stepped suddenly to her side and caught her wrist in his thin, transparent hand.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for abbot

abbot

/ (ˈæbət) /


noun
  1. the superior of an abbey of monks: Related adjective: abbatial

Origin of abbot

1
Old English abbod, from Church Latin abbāt- (stem of abbas), ultimately from Aramaic abbā Abba

Derived forms of abbot

  • abbotship or abbotcy, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012