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abbot

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abbot¹

  • /ˈæbət/ Australia, Canada, US
  • /ˈabət/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈɛbət/ New Zealand

Sounds like Abbot, Abbott · Rhymes with -æbət

Where it comes from

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.

noun abbots

  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 pastor or administrator of an order, including minor and major orders starting with the minor order of porter.
  3. A layman who received the abbey's revenues, after the closing of the monasteries.
  4. British, archaic, slang A brothel-owner's husband or lover.
  5. British, archaic, slang A ponce; a man employed by a prostitute to find clients, and who may also act as a bodyguard or equivalent to a bouncer.

Abbot²

Where it comes from

Variant spelling of Abbott.

proper noun Abbots

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable A town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States, named after John Abbot.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: archimandrite, abbé, priest, chaplain, reverend, father, elect, downing, abbott, hegumen, archabbot, lama, prior, superior, cleric, friar

Translations

Every language

noun superior or head of an abbey or monastery

Españolabad
한국어승정 seungjeong, 수도원장 sudowonjang
日本語修道院長 shūdōinchō, 住持 jūji
中文方丈 fāngzhàng, 住持 zhùchí
Portuguêsabade
Françaisabbé
DeutschAbt
Italianoabate
Ελληνικάηγούμενος igoúmenos
Românăegumen, stareț
Русскийабба́т abbát, настоя́тель nastojátelʹ, игу́мен igúmen
Tiếng Việttrụ trì tự viện
العربيةرَئِيس الدَّيْر raʔīs ad-dayr, أَبَاتِي ʔabātī

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MLA

"abbot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/abbot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

abbot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/abbot

Chicago

"abbot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/abbot.

BibTeX
@misc{abbot_2026,
  title = {abbot},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/abbot},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}