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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

I like to call it A to Z, Abigail Spanberger and Andy Beshear representing one end of the tent, all the way over to Zohran Mamdani at the other.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, said there are plenty of American workers to meet employers’ needs.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

So on a spring Sunday morning in 2005, Marvin Mann called Abigail Johnson to see if he might stop by her home in Milton, Mass. The mutual-fund trustee didn’t say why.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

That’s exactly what is happening right now to Abigail Spanberger.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

Abigail described this decision as “a very painful thing” because “the President could not play his strongest card.”

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