Meanings
plural abettors · alternative abetter
- One that abets an offender; one that incites, instigates, or encourages.First known use First attested from 1350 to 1470.
Thou foul abettor! thou notorious bawd! Thou plantest scandal and displacest laud:
1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC - A supporter or advocate.First known use Late 16ᵗʰ century.
[…] when he recollected that, being there as an assistant, he actually seemed—no matter what unhappy train of circumstances had brought him to that pass—to be the aider and abettor of a system which filled him with honest disgust and indignation, he loathed himself […]
1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 8, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Frenchabeter
- Anglo-Normanabettour
- Middle Englishabettour
- Englishabettor
From Middle English abettour, from Anglo-Norman abettour, from Old French abeter + -our (“-or”). See abet. By surface analysis, abet + -or.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian подстрека́тел
- подстрека́тел (podstrekátel)inciter
Chinese Mandarin 幫兇 /幫凶 /帮凶, 教唆犯
- 幫兇 /幫凶 /帮凶 (bāngxiōng)inciter
- 教唆犯 (jiàosuōfàn)inciter
- 幫兇 /幫凶 /帮凶 (bāngxiōng)accomplice
Czech podněcovatel, spoluviník
- podněcovatelinciter
- spoluviníkaccomplice
Dutch aanstichter, opstoker
- aanstichterinciter
- opstokerinciter
- ophitserinciter
- medeplichtigeaccomplice
- handlangeraccomplice
Finnish yllyttäjä, avunantaja
- yllyttäjäinciter
- avunantajaaccomplice
French incitateur, incitatrice
- incitateurinciter
- incitatriceinciter
- compliceaccomplice
German Anstifter, Anstifterin
- Anstifterinciter
- Anstifterininciter
- Anstachlerinciter
- Mittäteraccomplice
- Komplizeaccomplice
- Kumpanaccomplice
- Helfershelferaccomplice
Irish neartaitheoir
- neartaitheoiraccomplice
Italian favoreggiatore, favoreggiatrice
- favoreggiatoreinciter
- favoreggiatriceinciter
- istigatoreinciter
- istigatriceinciter
- fiancheggiatoreinciter
- fiancheggiatriceinciter
- fomentatoreinciter
- fomentatriceinciter
- aizzatoreinciter
- aizzatriceinciter
- agitatoreinciter
- agitatriceinciter
Japanese 教唆者, 教唆犯
- 教唆者 (kyōsansha)inciter
- 教唆犯 (kyōsanhan)inciter
- 共犯者 (kyōhansha)accomplice
Portuguese incitador, cúmplice
- incitadorinciter
- cúmpliceaccomplice
Russian подстрека́тель, подстрека́тельница
- подстрека́тель (podstrekátelʹ)inciter
- подстрека́тельница (podstrekátelʹnica)inciter
- посо́бник (posóbnik)accomplice
- посо́бница (posóbnica)accomplice
- соуча́стник (součástnik)accomplice
- соуча́стница (součástnica)accomplice
- соо́бщник (soóbščnik)accomplice
- соо́бщница (soóbščnica)accomplice
Spanish cómplice
- cómpliceaccomplice
Swedish anstiftare
- anstiftareaccomplice
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with abettor
Anagrams
Cite this entry
abettor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abettor
“abettor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abettor. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “abettor,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abettor.
Source: abettor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.