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• abbot
  abbot

  noun

  a man who is the head or superior, usually elected, of a monastery.
• Abbot
  Abbot

  noun

  Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, U.S. astrophysicist.

abbot

¹ American  

[ab-uht] / ˈæb ət /

noun

abbots plural

1. a man who is the head or superior, usually elected, of a monastery.

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Abbot ² American  

[ab-uht] / ˈæb ət /

noun

1. Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, U.S. astrophysicist.

2. Also Abbott a first name.

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abbot British  

/ ˈæbət /

noun

1. the superior of an abbey of monks

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• abbotcy
  noun
• abbotship
  noun
• subabbot
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• abbots
  plural

Etymology

Origin of abbot

First recorded before 900; Middle English, variant of abbat, from Latin abbāt- (stem of abbās ), from Greek, from Aramaic abbā; replacing Middle English, Old English abbod (compare Old High German abbat ), from Late Latin abbād- for abbāt-; cf. Abba ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

An abbot is the head of a monastery. Just as businesses have bosses and teams have coaches, the monastery has an abbot. The word abbot comes from the Greek abbas, which means "father” as a title with honor. An abbot is the superior of a monastery, the father of the fathers — in other words. Other monks must obey the abbot, and the abbot should lead and inspire all the monks.

Related Words

• monk