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• abigail
  abigail

  noun

  a lady's maid.
• Abigail
  Abigail

  noun

  (in the Bible) the wife of Nabal and later of David.

abigail

¹ American  

[ab-i-geyl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. a lady's maid.

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Abigail ² American  

[ab-i-geyl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the wife of Nabal and later of David.

2. a first name: from a Hebrew word meaning “joy of the father.”

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Abigail British  

/ ˈæbɪˌɡeɪl /

noun

1. Old Testament the woman who brought provisions to David and his followers and subsequently became his wife (I Samuel 25:1–42)

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Etymology

Origin of abigail

1645–55; after Abigail, name of attendant in play The Scornful Lady (1610), by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher

Example Sentences

With slow and measured tread they walked, while to their right minced Betty, a small abigail, swaying a lantern.

From The ghosts of their ancestors by Mills, Weymer Jay

And, of course, the abigail swore to the fact.

From Barry Lyndon by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Her cheeks flamed before the sharp eyes of the abigail, and then flamed again with scorn at her own folly.

From The Fortunes of the Farrells by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.

Pooh!" scoffed the abigail, "you may spare your breath.

From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis

On the left is the cunning abigail, who supplanted the duchess in the favour of Queen Anne—Mrs. Masham.

From Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad with Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected Vol. II (of 3) by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)