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• abbot
  abbot

  noun

  a man who is the head or superior, usually elected, of a monastery.
• Abbot
  Abbot

  noun

  Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, U.S. astrophysicist.

abbot

¹ American  

[ab-uht] / ˈæb ət /

noun

• abbots
  plural

1. a man who is the head or superior, usually elected, of a monastery.

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Abbot ² American  

[ab-uht] / ˈæb ət /

noun

1. Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, U.S. astrophysicist.

2. Also Abbott a first name.

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abbot British  

/ ˈæbət /

noun

1. the superior of an abbey of monks

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• abbotcy
  noun
• abbotship
  noun
• subabbot
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• abbots
  plural

Etymology

Origin of abbot

First recorded before 900; Middle English, variant of abbat, from Latin abbāt- (stem of abbās ), from Greek, from Aramaic abbā; replacing Middle English, Old English abbod (compare Old High German abbat ), from Late Latin abbād- for abbāt-; cf. Abba ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

An abbot is the head of a monastery. Just as businesses have bosses and teams have coaches, the monastery has an abbot. The word abbot comes from the Greek abbas, which means "father” as a title with honor. An abbot is the superior of a monastery, the father of the fathers — in other words. Other monks must obey the abbot, and the abbot should lead and inspire all the monks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abbot Abbot abbots

"People are facing many economic hardships," said the abbot, U Thudassa.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

“I am looking forward to the silence finally stopping, because 54 years of silence is a long time,” said Bishop Kassianos of Aravissos, the abbot of the seminary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

Tenor Roy Hage is the amiable Volmar, Hildegard’s confidant in the monastery and baritone David Adam Moore her tormentor abbot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025

Caldey Abbey commissioned the report, and its new abbot apologised for the pain and suffering caused.

From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2024

The abbot, Cyril Knapp, also took an interest in breeding experiments.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The private requiem mass included a homily from the Rt Rev David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Competitors for Afib products exist, mainly Abbot Laboratories.

From Barron's ● May 28, 2026

Irth’s team includes Mack Abbot, a former employee of Starboard Value, the activist hedge fund that made an investment in Papa Johns several years ago and whose founder became chairman of its board.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

I was renting from this guy, kind of a character on the scene, and he would set up these speakeasy acoustic shows above this jeans store on Abbot Kinney called the Stronghold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025

It was said that even the Father Abbot himself would flatly refuse to treat a snake, no matter how bad its condition might be.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

“Not many abbots built castles as well as monasteries.”

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2022

Splattered across the lands of central Europe are countless territories overseen by an emperor who shared power with a hierarchy spanning princes, bishops and dukes, down to abbots, knights and city councils.

From Economist ● Apr. 14, 2016

It also provides name checks for the successive abbots who oversaw the commission: Jerome and Benedetto.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2015

Among the 10,000 killed were King James IV, 12 earls, 13 barons, five heirs to titles, three bishops and two abbots.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2013

Rochet, roch′et, n. a close-fitting fine linen or lawn vestment proper to bishops and abbots: a mantlet worn by the peers of England during ceremonies.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Related Words

• monk