Abbot
//ˈæb.ət// name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The superior or head of an abbey or monastery.
"The newly appointed abbot decided to take a tour of the abbey with the cardinal's emissary."
- 2 the superior of an abbey of monks wordnet
- 3 The pastor or administrator of an order, including minor and major orders starting with the minor order of porter.
- 4 A layman who received the abbey's revenues, after the closing of the monasteries.
- 5 A brothel-owner's husband or lover. British, archaic, slang
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- 6 A ponce; a man employed by a prostitute to find clients, and who may also act as a bodyguard or equivalent to a bouncer. British, archaic, slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States, named after a John Abbot. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"The abbot gave rice to the vixen."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English abbot, abbod, abbed, from Old English abbat, abbad, abbod, from Latin abbās (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of abba, abbé, and bwana.
Etymology 2
Variant spelling of Abbott.
Related phrases
More for "abbot"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.