abigail
noun
a lady's maid.
abigail
1 American
[ab-i-geyl]
/ ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /
noun
Abigail
2
American
[ab-i-geyl]
/ ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /
noun
-
(in the Bible) the wife of Nabal and later of David.
-
a first name: from a Hebrew word meaning “joy of the father.”
Abigail
British
/ ˈæbɪˌɡeɪl /
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I have prepared, however, another carriage for the abigail, and all the trumpery which our wives drag along with them.
From Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 3 With His Letters and Journals by Moore, Thomas
On the left is the cunning abigail, who supplanted the duchess in the favour of Queen Anne—Mrs. Masham.
From Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad with Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected Vol. II (of 3) by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
"What does this mean?" cried the abigail, with an imperious frown which served to mask a new-born terror.
From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis
The Marquise de Gange and her abigail having succumbed to the scourge, the inmates of the chateau must flee, or endure ostracism--they would be banned like lepers.
From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis
Her abigail reported that Mrs. Gutheridge had a set of night curls for sleeping in.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah
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.
