ABBEY Ab"bey, n.; pl. Abbeys. Etym: [OF. abaïe, F. abbaye, L. abbatia, fr. abbas abbot. See Abbot.]
1. A monastery or society of persons of either sex, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy; also, the monastic building or buildings.
Note: The men are called monks, and governed by an abbot; the women are called nuns, and governed by an abbess.
2. The church of a monastery.
Note: In London, the Abbey means Westminster Abbey, and in Scotland, the precincts of the Abbey of Holyrood. The name is also retained for a private residence on the site of an abbey; as, Newstead Abbey, the residence of Lord Byron.
Syn.
— Monastery; convent; nunnery; priory; cloister. See Cloister.
ABBOT Ab"bot, n. Etym: [AS. abbod, abbad, L. abbas, abbatis, Gr. abba father. Cf. Abba, AbbÉ.]
1. The superior or head of an abbey.
2. One of a class of bishops whose sees were formerly abbeys. Encyc. Brit. Abbot of the people. a title formerly given to one of the chief magistrates in Genoa. — Abbot of Misrule (or Lord of Misrule), in mediæval times, the master of revels, as at Christmas; in Scotland called the Abbot of Unreason. Encyc. Brit.
ABBOTSHIP
Ab"bot*ship, n. Etym: [Abbot + -ship.]