abigail

plural abigails

1. obsoleteA lady's maid.First known use mid 17th–19th c.

   It was therefore concluded that the Abigails should, by turns, relieve each other on one of his lordship’s horses, which was presently equipped with a side-saddle for that purpose.

   1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, page 415

   2 more examples

   In the servants’ hall two coachmen and three gentlemen’s gentlemen stood or sat round the fire; the abigails, I suppose, were upstairs with their mistresses; the new servants, that had been hired from Millcote, were bustling about everywhere.

   1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

   No light showed in the coachman's cottage, nor in the grooms' quarters, and no one appeared to offer the least hindrance to Eustacie's escape. She unlocked the door of the harness-room, pulled Lucy in after her, and setting the lantern down on the table, selected a bridle from the wall, and pointed out her saddle to the abigail.

   1936, Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring, page 46

plural Abigails

1. biblicalThe wife of Nabal and later of David in the Old Testament.

   Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 25:3

2. A female given name from Hebrew, used since the 16th century, and currently quite popular.

   The name of Abigail Adams is naturally closely associated with those of her illustrious father and mother, - - - Born in 1765, the mother's quaint Christian name was given to the little girl

   1912 Edith Tunis Sale: Old Time Belles and Cavaliers. J.B.Lippincott 1912. page 178

   1 more example

   Representative Abigail Spanberger, a prominent Virginia Democrat who was repeatedly able to win in a conservative-leaning district, announced on Monday that she would run for governor in 2025, leaving open a competitive seat that could be crucial to her party’s efforts to win back control of the House next year.

   2023 November 13, Luke Broadwater, “Spanberger Announces Run for Governor in Virginia, Leaving House Seat in Play”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2023