English
abbey
Abbey comes from Middle English abbey ‘convent headed by an abbot’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abbey‘convent headed by an abbot’
- Englishearliest quotation 1825same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abbey‘convent headed by an abbot’
- Englishearliest quotation 1825same form
Earliest quotation: 1825, James Jennings, Observations on some of the Dialects of the West of England: “Ab'bey. The great white poplar: one of the varieties…”
Linked words
through Aramaic אבא ‘father’
through Ancient Greek ἀββα
through Classical Latin abbās ‘abbot’
Today it means
noun The office or dominion of an abbot or abbess.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English abbey / abbey