abbot
pronunciation
How to pronounce abbot in British English:
UK [ˈæbət]
How to pronounce abbot in American English:
US ['æbət]
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- Noun:
- the superior of an abbey of monks
Word Origin
- abbot
- abbot: [OE] Abbot comes ultimately from abbā, a Syriac word meaning ‘father’ (which itself achieved some currency in English, particularly in reminiscence of its biblical use: ‘And he said, Abba, father, all things are possible unto thee’, Mark 14:36). This came into Greek as abbás, and thence, via the Latin accusative abbatem, into Old English as abbud or abbod.The French term abbé (which is much less specific in meaning than English abbot) comes from the same source. In much the same way as father is used in modern English for priests, abba was widely current in the East for referring to monks, and hence its eventual application to the head of a monastery. A derivative of Latin abbatem was abbatia, which has given English both abbacy [15] and (via Old French abbeie) abbey [13]. Abbess is of similar antiquity (Latin had abbatissa).=> abbess, abbey
- abbot (n.)
- Old English abbod "abbot," from Latin abbatem (nominative abbas), from Greek abbas, from Aramaic abba, title of honor, literally "the father, my father," emphatic state of abh "father." The Latin fem. abbatissa is root of abbess.
Example
- 1. On his first return visit , the abbot of a temple called bat nha repeatedly offered him the abbotship .
- 2. The abbot told xinhua that some children were abandoned by their parents , while others were sent to the temple by the local government and hospitals .
- 3. The abbot says prayers for the ghosts of roman soldiers , who , he reports , visit his temple to petition for salvation .
- 4. Through an illiterate woman who acts as a medium , the abbot has discovered that julius caesar himself spent his final days in yongchang county and died a buddhist .
- 5. It may be wishful thinking , but so captivating is the notion of a roman town in ancient china that for 50 years it has inspired a disparate variety of supporters , among them an oxford university professor , an australian adventurer and the abbot of a nearby buddhist temple .