Jump To:

• 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-gayl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. a lady's maid.

---

Abigail ² American  

[ab-i-gayl] / 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.”

---

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)

---

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

See Examples For:

abigail Abigail

The abigail had got the worst of the encounter, her proofs as well as her accusation were rendered ridiculous, even in her own eyes, although she knew the accusation to be true.

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

The abigail carried the letter to the boy, and the boy departed, very well pleased to get clear of the castle without having received any further reproof.

From Run to Earth A Novel by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

"He is gone at last," said the abigail, sipping her glass; "and here is to his good journey."

From The Abbot by Sir Walter Scott

And Toinon, foster-sister and confidential abigail, had absolutely betrothed herself in secret to this abandoned wretch!

From The Maid of Honour, Vol. 1 (of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Lewis Wingfield

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 Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

Abigail Wright said the series was her "gateway back to reading"

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

In a July 1775 letter, John Adams told his wife, Abigail: “There is a young Gentleman from Pennsylvania whose Name is Wilson, whose Fortitude, Rectitude, and Abilities too, greatly outshine his Master’s.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

In it, Tinoco’s sister wrote that Abigail was a graduate of Downey High School and an athlete on the track and cross-country teams before she attended UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

"These are thick blocks of ice that can drift for years," specifies Dr. Abigail Dalton of the Canadian Ice Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

The character of Adams’s own complicated feelings toward Jefferson eventually revealed itself through Abigail.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---