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abigail. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
abigail, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
abigail in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
abigail you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From the name Abigail, as given to a waiting-maid in Beaumont and Fletcher's play The Scornful Lady.
Pronunciation
Noun
abigail (plural abigails)
- (obsolete) A lady's maid. [1]
1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, page 415: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.
1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre: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.
Derived terms
Translations
References
- ^ Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abigail”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 4.
- “abigail”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “abigail”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- Albert Barrère and Charles G[odfrey] Leland, compilers and editors (1889–1890) “abigail”, in A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant , volume I (A–K), Edinburgh: The Ballantyne Press, →OCLC, pages 4–5.
- John S[tephen] Farmer, compiler (1890) “abigail”, in Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present. , volume I, Thomas Poulter and Sons] , →OCLC, pages 5–6.