abigail

¹

[ab-i-geyl]

noun

1. a lady's maid.

Abigail

²

[ab-i-geyl]

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

/ 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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of abigail¹

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

Example Sentences

And in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger clinched the governor’s mansion on a campaign that named affordable child care and paid family and medical leave as essential to helping families make ends meet.

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Daughter, Abigail Phillips is 25 weeks pregnant and unable to fly - "I just want to hug my mum," she said.

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Abigail's older brother Antony, 39 has been at his mum's side in Barbados for the last two weeks.

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Despite this progress, Abigail said her mum was still "temporarily paralysed and on heavy sedative medication... she's not very compos-mentis," Abigail said.

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"She will need a three-stop air ambulance," Abigail said.

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