51Թ

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View synonyms for

abbess

[ ab-is ]

noun

  1. a woman who is the superior of a convent of nuns.


abbess

/ ˈæɪ /

noun

  1. the female superior of a convent
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Gender Note

What's the difference between abbess and abbot? See -ess.
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of abbess1

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English abbesse from Old French abbesse, abaesse from Late Latin پ, feminine of abbot; replacing Middle English abbatisse from Late Latin; in turn replacing Old English abadisse, abbodesse (compare Old High German abbatissa ) from unattested Late Latin ab(b)adissa for پ
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of abbess1

C13: from Old French, from Church Latin پ
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The No. 1 purpose of the farm is to foster circles of community,” said Heath, who serves as the community “abbess,” traditionally the female superior in a community of nuns, but here the pastoral leader.

From

Its first exhibition, An Idea of a Life, looks at the history of the abbesses and nuns who lived in Barking Abbey from the 7th Century to the early 16th Century.

From

“It’s not the purpose of our life, lest we break the equilibrium - rather, it’s to turn work into prayer,” said the abbess, Almudena Vilariño.

From

“It’s not the purpose of our life, lest we break the equilibrium — rather, it’s to turn work into prayer,” said the abbess, Almudena Vilariño.

From

“The Dodgers capitulated in response to hateful and misleading information from people outside their community,” Sister Rosie Partridge, president and an abbess of the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, said in a statement.

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