abbess
English
/ˈæb.ɪs/, /ˈæb.ɪs/
noun
Definitions
- A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks.
- (archaic) A woman who runs a brothel; a woman employed by a prostitute to find clients.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English abbesse derived from Old French abeesse derived from Latin abbatissa, abbas (abbot, father).
Origin
Latin
abbas
Gloss
abbot, father
Concept
Semantic Field
Kinship
Ontological Category
Person/Thing
Kanji
父
Emoji
🎅
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- abbas Latin
- abbatissa Latin
- abbās Latin
- abbātia Latin
- abbātissa Latin
- abbate Italian
- аббатиса Russian
- ἀββᾶς Ancient Greek
- abbesse Middle English
- ab Irish
- abbadís Old Norse
- abbati Old Norse
- abbed Danish
- abeesse Old French
- abbat Old High German
- abbāt Middle High German
- abbadesa Old Spanish
- abbat Crimean Tatar
- aibai Bourguignon
- aibôsse Bourguignon