abbess
/ˈæb.ɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.50 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The abbess was always after the nuns to keep the convent immaculately clean."
- "Why laſt night, as Colonel Kill'em, Sir William Weezy, Lord Frederick Foretop, and I were careleſsly ſliding the Ranelagh round, picking our teeth, after a damn'd muzzy dinner at Boodle's, who ſhould trip by but an abbeſs, well known about town, with a ſmart little nun in her ſuite."
- "So an old Abbess for the rattling Rakes, / A tempting dish of human nature makes, / And dresses up a luscious Maid: / I rather should have said, indeed, undresses, / To please a youth's unsanctified caresses."
- ""I mean to inform you," answered the Oxonian, with a grin on his face, "that those three nymphs, who have so much dazzled your optics, are three nuns, and the plump female is Mother .... of great notoriety, but generally designated the Abbess of .... Her residence is at no great distance from one of the royal palaces; and she is distinguished for her bold ingenuous line of conduct in the profession which she has chosen to adopt; so much so, indeed, that she eclipses all her competitors in infamy.""
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Afroasiatic *ʔab- Proto-Semitic *ʔabw- Aramaic אַבָּא (ʾabbā)bor. Ancient Greek ἀββα (abba) Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs)bor. Latin abbās Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂der. Ancient Greek -ῐᾰ (-ĭă) Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa)bor. Latin -issa Latin abbātissa Old French abeessebor. Middle English abbesse English abbess From Middle English abbesse, from Old French abeesse (French abbesse), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin abbatissa, feminine of Latin abbas, abbatis (“abbot”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæb.ɪs/
- British English: /ˈæb.ɪs/