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• abigail
  abigail

  noun

  a lady's maid.
• Abigail
  Abigail

  noun

  (in the Bible) the wife of Nabal and later of David.

abigail

¹ American  

[ab-i-geyl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. a lady's maid.

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Abigail ² American  

[ab-i-geyl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

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.”

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Abigail British  

/ 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)

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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

Foster-sister and confidential abigail to the Marquise de Gange, the two were as united as if they had indeed been sisters.

From The Maid of Honour, Vol. 1 (of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis

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)

Mungo sighed and said no more then, but went to Annapla and sought relief for his feelings in bilingual wrangling with that dark abigail.

From Doom Castle by Munro, Neil

Starting, the abigail took up the parcel, went to a cupboard, selected a bottle from a row and mixed some of its contents with water.

From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis

"A large dose acts on the system quickly--within an hour," scoffed the abigail.

From The Maid of Honour (Vol. 3 of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Wingfield, Lewis