Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A monastery supervised by an abbot.
- n. A convent supervised by an abbess.
- n. A church that is or once was part of a monastery or convent.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A monastery or convent of persons of either sex devoted to religion and celibacy, and governed by an abbot or abbess (which see). Royal and imperial abbeys were dependent on the supreme civil authority in their temporal administration; others were episcopal, etc. In exempt abbeys, the abbot or abbess is subject not to the bishop of the diocese, but directly to the pope.
- n. The buildings of a monastery or convent; sometimes, in particular, the house set apart for the residence of the abbot or abbess. After the suppression of the English monasteries by Henry VIII. many of the abbatial buildings were converted into private dwellings, to which the name abbey is still applied, as, for example, Newstead Abbey, the residence of Lord Byron.
- n. A church now or formerly attached to a monastery or convent: as, Westminster Abbey.
- n. In Scotland, the sanctuary formerly afforded by the abbey of Holyrood Palace, as having been a royal residence.
- n. A name sometimes given to the white poplar, Populus alba.
Wiktionary
- n. capitalized In London, the Abbey is short for Westminster Abbey, and in Scotland, the precincts of the Abbey of Holyrood.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A monastery or society of persons of either sex, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy; also, the monastic building or buildings.
- n. The church of a monastery.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a convent ruled by an abbess
- n. a church associated with a monastery or convent
- n. a monastery ruled by an abbot
Etymologies
- From 1250 in Middle English as abbeye ("convent headed by an abbot"), from Old French abaïe, abbaïe, abeïe, abbeïe (Modern French abbaye) from Late Latin abbātia, from Classical Latin abbās ("abbot"). See abbot. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French abaie, from Late Latin abbātia; see abbacy. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Item, the said abbot hath alienate and sold the jewels and plate of the monastery, to the value of five hundred marks, _to purchase of the Bishop of Rome his bulls to be a bishop, and to annex the said abbey to his bishopric, to that intent that he should not for his misdeeds be punished, or deprived from his said abbey_.”
“The abbey is inhabited by women but overseen by men.”
“In truth, the popular misapprehension on this subject has not been occasioned by any obscurity in the colophons of the great printer, or in the survey of Stow, but merely by the erroneous constricted sense into which the word abbey has passed in this country.”
“The abbey was a sanctuary, but only a temporary one.”
“You climb & climb & suddenly you emerge at Roncevalles I have to say that I found it as inhospitable as 30 years ago—there are a couple of restaurants, church of Saint James & the old abbey, which is now turned over for lodging pilgrims.”
“Records are sketchy and no specific maps exist of the era when the abbey was a flourishing community.”
“This was never going to be an easy matter to resolve, and it says much about the universal respect in which she was held by those on both sides of the argument that her abbey was the venue chosen.”
“The 54-year-old said: We chose a medieval theme because the abbey is a historical site, and we wanted to complement that.”
“The abbey was a centre of spiritual and economic influence, founded in 1139 by Augustinian canons from Kirkham priory, near Malton in North Yorkshire.”
“That's good news for the cloistered nuns at the Bethlehem abbey, which is known around the world for its devotion to Gregorian chant and is one of the few places where it is sung with such frequency and intensity.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘abbey’.
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Loanwords
Since English is littered with loanwords, everything could conceivably end up here. But there is a distinct feeling associated with these.. maybe they're young additions to the English language; I ...
iceberg, fjord, firth, abbey, abyss, anorak, apartheid, assassin, avalanche, avocado, balaclava, banana and 104 more...
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Common English Words That Are Also Fi...
art, bob, bill, grace, hope, john, heather, pat, amber, jack, dale, glen and 170 more...
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A to abominator (Chambers)
aa gets over 40 hits
aardvark 49 hits
abbatoir 103 hits
abjure 138 hitsA, A-line, A-list, A-lister, A 1, A-road, A-side, from A to B, from A to Z, A-bomb, A-effect, A level and 254 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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5000 FREE SAT Words
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 229 more...
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The O.U.P. Junior Dictionary Death Row
Another news story about words being removed from a dictionary before their time. See also the list of words added to the dictionary.
carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe, dwarf, elf, goblin, abbey, aisle, altar, bishop and 137 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (A)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
abalone, abbey, abundant, aconite, acorn, addled, adept, aeon, aerie, aglow, ague, aire and 99 more...
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Reading Random
Got unknown words randomly
delinquency, modicum, dissuade, incendiary, destitute, lachrymose, plight, ruse, empirical, pedantic, demography, giggle and 444 more...
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amazing grace
hymn, nave, narthex, chapel, novice, asperges, altar, annunciation, liturgical, litany, nicene creed, cloister and 209 more...
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Bram Stoker's Dracula
Words used in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
decadence, emancipation, nostalgia, abounded, modernity, revolution, famine, conservative, privy, vied, nascent, correspondence and 211 more...
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vocab
hard word word 4 strong vocab
ostracize, importune, impute, scintillate, mulct, deprecate, procrastinate, rusticate, vegetate, expiate, emulate, gesticulate and 345 more...
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GRE uncommon
patronage, expletive, exhort, exegesis, execrable, excommunicate, evince, escarpment, ersatz, ergo, epoxy, snare and 1202 more...
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He was a verray, parfit gentil knyght
my favourite era
feudal, peasant, vassal, serf, medieval, fief, chivalry, yeoman, joust, primogeniture, wimple, abbey and 56 more...
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Romantic Words
Words that inspire poetic romance and idyllic atmosphere in my mind.
chapel, vale, abbey, beck, willow, lych-gate, churchyard, herb, damask, beryl, foxglove
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A
Well, here comes all the words that begin with an A.
Wish me luckaardvark, aardwolf, aaron, aaronic, ab, aba, abaca, aback, abacterial, abacus, abaft, abalone and 65 more...
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Jutland's Words
carrel, sadducean, antiphoner, ophidia, demesne, bolus, coronae, patristic, uncial, constantinople, lavender, spoof and 61 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for abbey.
mikeropology A loanword from Ancient Syria (Syriac language). Jan 31, 2008