abbey
noun/ˈæb.i/
Etymology From A.D. 1250 in Middle English abbey, abbeye (“convent headed by an abbot”) (compare archaic English abbaye), itself borrowed from Old French abaïe, abbaïe, abeïe, abbeïe (Modern French abbaye) from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin abbātia, from Classical Latin abbās (“abbot”). Doublet of abbacy and Opatija. See abbot.
1
The office or dominion of an abbot or abbess.
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.
- Near-synonym: convent
- 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.
- No, we can't have alphabetical seating in the abbey. You'd have Iraq and Iran next to each other (laugh track)... Plus Israel and Jordan all sitting in the same pew (laugh track)! We'd be in danger of starting World War III (laugh track)!1987 December 17, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “A Diplomatic Incident”, in Yes, Prime Minister, season 2, episode 3, spoken by Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds):
5
Dialectal The abele or white poplar (Populus alba).
- Ab'bey. The great white poplar: one of the varieties of the Populus alba.1825, James Jennings, Observations on some of the Dialects of the West of England, page 21:
- Abbey-lug, a branch of the abele tree.1873, W. P. Williams and W. A. Jones, A Glossary of Provincial Words and Phrases in use in Somersetshire, page 1:
- Derived terms
- abbey counter, Abbey Dore, Abbey Gate, abbeylike, abbey-lubber, abbey token, Abbeytown, Abbey Wood, Bolton Abbey, Byland Abbey, Holme Abbey, Neath Abbey, New Abbey, Rosedale Abbey, Waltham Abbey, Westminster Abbey, Whiteabbey