Abba

¹ American  

[ab-uh] / ˈæb ə /

Or abba

noun

1. a title of reverence for bishops and patriarchs in the Coptic, Ethiopian Christian, and Syriac churches.

2. New Testament. an Aramaic word for father, used by Jesus and Paul to address God in a relation of personal intimacy.

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Abba ² American  

[ah-bah] / ˈɑ bɑ /

noun

1. a female day name for Thursday. day name

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Abba ¹ British  

/ ˈæbə /

noun

1. New Testament father (used of God)

2. a title given to bishops and patriarchs in the Syrian, Coptic, and Ethiopian Churches

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Abba ² British  

/ ˈæbə /

noun

1. Swedish pop group (1972–82): comprised Benny Andersson (born 1946), Agnetha Faltskog (born 1950), Anni-Frid Lyngstad (born 1945), and Bjorn Ulvaeus (born 1945); numerous hit singles included "Waterloo" (1974), "Dancing Queen" (1977), and "The Winner Takes It All" (1980)

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Etymology

Origin of Abba

From the Aramaic word abbā “father”

Example Sentences

I’d never given much thought to ABBA, but as a Vietnamese American who grew up in the ’80s, I’ve become increasingly curious about how the Swedish pop group intersects with the Viet experience.

From Salon

Today, Sabrina Carpenter is responsible for introducing a new generation to the catchy, uptempo stylings of ABBA.

From Salon

“For us in Southern California . . . who grew up around Little Saigon, you go to the Little Saigon mall, and then they were selling bootleg CDs with all the oldies. And I being an older Millennial have a lot of cousins who brought over their musical tastes from Vietnam. So they brought over The Carpenters, The Eagles and ABBA.”

From Salon

So that musical and movie consists of all the hits by ABBA.

From Salon

“Why ABBA? Why do my parents love ABBA? Why do all the adults listen to ABBA? I mean, apart from these specific Western bands, they just listen to all the other regular Vietnamese artists. So I did some digging.”

From Salon

Related Words

• administrator
• cleric
• director
• patriarch
• pontiff
• pope
• prelate
• priest