English
abbey
see also: Abbey
Pronunciation Noun

abbey (plural abbeys)

  1. The office or dominion of an abbot or abbess. [First attested around 1150 to 1350.]
  2. A monastery or society of people, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy, which is headed by an abbot or abbess; also, the monastic building or buildings. [First attested around 1150 to 1350.]
    From 1199 to 1203 William Punchard was the abbot of the abbey of Rievaulx, which was part of the Cistercian order of monks.
  3. The church of a monastery. [First attested around 1150 to 1350.]
  4. (British English) A residence that was previously an abbatial building.[Mid 16th century.]
Related terms Translations Translations
Abbey
Proper noun
  1. A female given name.
  2. A male given name.
  3. Surname
  4. (London) Westminster Abbey.
  5. (Scotland) The precincts of the Abbey of Holyrood.
Synonyms
  • (diminutive of Abigail) Abi


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.006
Offline English dictionary