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abbe

 - 3 dictionary results

ab⋅bé

  [a-bey, ab-ey; Fr. a-bey]
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–noun, plural ab⋅bés  [a-beyz, ab-eyz; Fr. a-bey] . (esp. in France)
1. a member of the secular clergy.
2. a title of respect for any ecclesiastic or clergyman.
Origin:
1520–30; < F, MF < LL abbāte(m), acc. of abbās abbot
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ab·bé   (āb'ā', ā-bā')   
n.   Roman Catholic Church

  1. Used as a title for the superior of a monastery in a French-speaking area.

  2. Used as a title for a cleric in major or minor orders in a French-speaking area.


[French, from Old French abbe, from Late Latin abbās, abbāt-, abbot; see abbot.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

abbé 
1530, title given in France to "every one who wears an ecclesiastical dress," especially one having no assigned ecclesiastical duty, from Fr., from L.L. abbatem, acc. of abbas (see abbot).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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