Meanings
abbot1
nounabbot (plural abbots)
plural abbots
- The pastor or administrator of an order, including minor and major orders starting with the minor order of porter.
- A layman who received the abbey's revenues, after the closing of the monasteries.
- BritisharchaicslangA ponce; a man employed by a prostitute to find clients, and who may also act as a bodyguard or equivalent to a bouncer.
Abbot2
proper nounAbbot (countable and uncountable, plural Abbots)
plural Abbots
- countableuncountableA surname.
- countableuncountableA town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States, named after John Abbot.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
abbot · noun
- Aramaicאבא“father”
- Ancient Greekἀββᾶς
- Latinabbās“father”
- Old Englishabbat
- Middle Englishabbot
- Englishabbot
From Middle English abbot, abbod, abbed, from Old English abbat, abbad, abbod, from Latin abbās (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of abba, abbé, and bwana.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans ab, kloostervoog
- absuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
- kloostervoogsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Arabic رَئِيس الدَّيْر, أَبَاتِي
- رَئِيس الدَّيْر (raʔīs ad-dayr)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- أَبَاتِي (ʔabātī)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Basque abade
- abadesuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Bulgarian игумен, аба́т
- игумен (igumen)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- аба́т (abát)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Catalan abat
- abatsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Chinese Mandarin 方丈, 住持
- 方丈 (fāngzhàng)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- 住持 (zhùchí)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Czech opat
- opatsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Danish abbed
- abbedsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Dutch abt
- abtsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Esperanto abato
- abatosuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Finnish apotti
- apottisuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
French abbé
- abbésuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
German Abt
- Abtsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Greek ηγούμενος
- ηγούμενος (igoúmenos)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Hungarian apát
- apátsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Icelandic ábóti
- ábótisuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Indonesian abas
- abassuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Irish ab, luamh
- absuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
- luamhsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Italian abate
- abatesuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Japanese 修道院長, 住持
- 修道院長 (shūdōinchō)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- 住持 (jūji)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Korean 승정, 수도원장
- 승정 (seungjeong)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- 수도원장 (sudowonjang)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Latin abbās, archimandrīta
- abbāssuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
- archimandrītasuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Latvian abats
- abatssuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Lithuanian abatas
- abatassuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Malay abbas
- abbassuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Māori apota
- apotasuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Norwegian Bokmål abbed
- abbedsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Persian راهب بزرگ
- راهب بزرگ (râheb-e bozorg)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Polish opat
- opatsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Portuguese abade
- abadesuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Romanian egumen, stareț
- egumensuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
- starețsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Russian абба́т, настоя́тель
- абба́т (abbát)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- настоя́тель (nastojátelʹ)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
- игу́мен (igúmen)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Slovak opát
- opátsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Spanish abad
- abadsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Swedish abbot
- abbotsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Tagalog abad
- abadsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Thai เจ้าอาวาส
- เจ้าอาวาส (jâao-aa-wâat)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Turkish başrahip, başkeşiş
- başrahipsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
- başkeşişsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
- başpapazsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Ukrainian аба́т
- аба́т (abát)superior or head of an abbey or monastery
Vietnamese trụ trì tự viện
- trụ trì tự việnsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Welsh abad
- abadsuperior or head of an abbey or monastery
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
APA
abbot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abbot
MLA
“abbot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abbot. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “abbot,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abbot.
Source: abbot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.