abigail

[ab-i-geyl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR abigail ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a lady's maid.

Origin of abigail

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

Abigail

[ab-i-geyl]

noun

the wife of Nabal and later of David. I Sam. 25.

a female given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “joy of the father.”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for abigail

soubrette, abigail, maid-in-waiting, companion, confidante, domestic, lady-in-waiting

Examples from the Web for abigail

Contemporary Examples of abigail

What we can reasonably require an Abigail Fisher to understand is that the rules are bent based on socioeconomics.
The Supreme Court Steps Back From Tokenism Under a New Name
John McWhorter
June 24, 2013
In our moment, then, an Abigail Fisher must be viewed differently than she once would have been.
The Supreme Court Steps Back From Tokenism Under a New Name
John McWhorter
June 24, 2013
At the center of the case is Abigail Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin in 2008.
Supreme Court Rulings This June: Everything You Need to Know
Josh Dzieza
June 9, 2013
Abigail Haglage rounds up what we know so far about the honorable Charles Ramsey.
Video Star of the Day: Charles Ramsey, Cleveland’s Hero
Abby Haglage
May 7, 2013
So too does Abigail Pogrebin, an author and former 60 Minutes producer.
America’s Top 50 Rabbis for 2013
Gabrielle Birkner
March 21, 2013

Historical Examples of abigail

The finer feminine instinct of Abigail led her to interpose.
Beauty and The Beast, and Tales From Home
Bayard Taylor
Meanwhile, Miss Abigail had descended the stairs to the sitting room.
Cap'n Warren's Wards
Joseph C. Lincoln
Similarly, she indulged a mettlesome fancy for referring to her hostess as "dear Abigail."
Nobody
Louis Joseph Vance
Abigail, to save her husband and his property, hastens to the foot of the hill.
The Wedding Ring
T. De Witt Talmage
The stories of Deborah and Abigail are very apt to discourage a woman's soul.
The Wedding Ring
T. De Witt Talmage

British Dictionary definitions for abigail

Abigail

noun

Old Testament the woman who brought provisions to David and his followers and subsequently became his wife (I Samuel 25:1–42)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for abigail

Abigail

fem. proper name, in Old Testament, Abigail the Carmelitess, a wife of David, from Hebrew Abhigayil, literally "my father is rejoicing," from abh "father" + gil "to rejoice." Used in general sense of "lady's maid" (1660s) from character of that name in Beaumont & Fletcher's "The Scornful Lady." The waiting maid association perhaps begins with I Sam. xxv, where David's wife often calls herself a "handmaid." Her male counterpart was Andrew.