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.
"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
And, of course, the abigail swore to the fact.
From Barry Lyndon by Thackeray, William Makepeace
Her cheeks flamed before the sharp eyes of the abigail, and then flamed again with scorn at her own folly.
From The Fortunes of the Farrells by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.
The anxious abigail felt that they were in precisely the same harrowing position as Sister Anne and Fatima.
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.
