abbé
noun
(especially in France)
abbé
American
[a-bey, ab-ey, a -bey]
/ æˈbeɪ, ˈæb eɪ, aˈbeɪ /
noun
abbés
plural
abbé
1
British
/ abe, ˈæbeɪ /
noun
-
a French abbot
-
a title used in addressing any other French cleric, such as a priest
Abbe
2
British
/ ˈaːbə, ˈæbɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of abbé
First recorded in 1520–30; from French, Middle French, from Late Latin abbāte(m), accusative of abbās abbot
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Morse got most of this story from a book written by a Scottish academic named John Robison, who in turn took many of his ideas from the abbé de Barruel, a French priest.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2022
He even took minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church in 1865, becoming an abbé but appropriately stopping short of the vow of chastity.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2011
This smoothness has perhaps a slight tinge of the priestly—for, as Renan first studied for the priesthood, so Dupont-Sommer was once an abbé.
From The New Yorker ● May 6, 1955
At Modena, it happened that the pair fell in with some very devout people, and saw the "admonition" of an abbé of their acquaintance, who was punished in public after a severe and impressive fashion.
From The Comedies of Carlo Goldoni edited with an introduction by Helen Zimmern by Goldoni, Carlo
Condillac himself was an abbé, and possessing a sufficient benefice, he lived for the most part quietly upon it, and took no part in the political, or even the literary life of the times.
From A Short History of French Literature by Saintsbury, George
By entering the plea, Bolton “did what real leaders do,” his lawyer Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Lemon was in Los Angeles to cover the upcoming Grammy Awards when he was apprehended in a hotel lobby late Thursday night.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2026
Another dimension of Abbe, scholars say, is encoded in a light-brown leather account book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
In a statement, Huerta’s attorneys, Abbe David Lowell and Marilyn Bednarski, said they would “seek the speediest trial to vindicate David.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025
He had obtained great influence with the Indians through his friendship with the Abbe Maillard, and particularly from his behaviour to him a little before his death.
From History of Halifax City by Akins, Thomas B.
At their feet, on pillows resting, Or reclining on the greensward, May be seen abbés and gallants.
From The Lonely Way—Intermezzo—Countess Mizzie Three Plays by Björkman, Edwin
The abbés stories are capital, but he acts in a way that makes them better still.
From Diderot and the Encyclopædists (Vol 1 of 2) by Morley, John
They were imitated in their vices by a rabble of priests out of place, to whom the title of abbot was given in politeness, the little abbés of French biography and fiction.
From The Eve of the French Revolution by Lowell, Edward J. (Edward Jackson)
All the company was assembled when we arrived: the Marquis, the Dean of Havana, and two abbés were playing tresillo, a Spanish game of cards.
From In the Courts of Memory, 1858 1875; from Contemporary Letters by Hegermann-Lindencrone, L. de (Lillie de)
In 1883, in Savoy, the oil of which I have spoken was prepared in a group of defrocked abbés.
From Là-bas by Wallace, Keene
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
