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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-gayl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. a lady's maid.

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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.”

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abigail Abigail

Mungo was despatched for Annapla, and speedily the silent abigail of visions was engaged upon that truly Gaelic courtesy, the bathing of the traveller's feet.

From Doom Castle by Neil Munro

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

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

From Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray

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

Coachman, footman, abigail, and doubtless all fitting etceteras, owned her as their sovereign lady and mistress.

From Paris and the Parisians in 1835 (Vol. 1 of 2) by Frances Milton Trollope

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

It makes sense to be headquartered in California, both because of its history of car culture and its “positive vision of the future,” said Abigail Ramsden, Rivian’s senior manager of state policy for Western states.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 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 19-year-old performed well in the final routine of the women's programme, with silver for England's Abigail Martin, whose team-mate Shantae-Eve Amankwaah took bronze.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

She was so grateful to Abigail for this snippet.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder

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