abbé

See also:abbe,Abbe,Abbé,andÄbbe

English

Alternative forms

• abbe

Etymology

Unadapted borrowingfromFrenchabbé(“abbot”),fromLatinabbās(“abbot”).Doubletofabbot.

Pronunciation

• (General American)IPA^(key):/æˈbeɪ/,/ˈæb.eɪ/
• Rhymes:-eɪ

Noun

abbé(pluralabbés)

1. A low-ranking member of theRoman CatholicclergyinFrancewho is not a member of areligious order,is not apriest,and can marry and inherit property;an honorific title for such a clergymember.[mid 16th century]

   Coordinate terms:canon,curate,deacon,vicar;abbot,priest,rector

   • 2011,Sharon Bertsch McGrayne,The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy,Yale University Press,→ISBN,page15:

     At graduation [Pierre Simon] Laplace faced an anguishing dilemma. His master’s degree permitted him to take either the priestly vows of celibacy or the title ofabbé,signifying a low-ranking clergyman who could marry and inherit property.Abbésdid not have good reputations; Voltaire called them “that indefinable being which is neither ecclesiastic nor secular... young men, who are known for their debauchery.” An engraving of the period, “What Does theAbbéThink of It?” shows the clergyman peering appreciatively down a lady’s bosom as she dresses. Still, the elder Laplace wanted his son to become a clergyman. If Laplace had been willing to become anabbé,his father might have helped him financially, and Laplace could have combined church and science. A number ofabbéssupported themselves in science, the most famous being Jean Antoine Nollet, who demonstrated spectacular physics experiments to the paying public.

2. (obsolete)A Frenchabbot,the (male) head of anabbey.[mid 16th century]

Translations

French clergy

• Dutch:abbé(nl)m,
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål:abbém

References

• William Morris, editor (1969 (1971 printing)), “abbé”, inThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,New York, N.Y.:American Heritage Publishing Co.,→OCLC,page 2.
• Philip Babcock Gove (editor),Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged(G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909],→ISBN), page 2
• Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “abbé”, inThe Oxford College Dictionary,2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing,→ISBN,page 2.
• Laurence Urdang (editor),The Random House College Dictionary(Random House, 1984 [1975],→ISBN), page 2
• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abbé”, inThe Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles,5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.:Oxford University Press,→ISBN,page 3.

Anagrams

• Babe,babe

French

Etymology

InheritedfromOld Frenchabé,borrowed fromLatinabbātem,fromAncient Greekἀββᾶ(abbâ),fromAramaicאבא(’abbā,“father”).CompareEnglishabbot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/a.be/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

abbém(pluralabbés,feminineabbesse)

1. anabbot,the head of anabbey
2. (dated)a low-ranking member of theRoman CatholicclergyinFrancewho is not a member of areligious order,is not apriest,and can marry and inherit property;an honorific title for such a clergymember

   Coordinate terms:chanoine,diacre,prêtre;père(title)

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of“abbot”):abbesse(abbess)(female head of an abbey)

Related terms

• abbatial
• abbatiale
• abbaye
• abbesse

Descendants

• →English:abbé
• →German:Abbé
• →Norwegian Bokmål:abbé
• →Slovak:abbé
• →Swedish:abbé

Further reading

• “abbé”,inTrésor de la langue française informatisé[Digitized Treasury of the French Language],2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

BorrowedfromFrenchabbé(“abbot”),fromLatinabbās(“abbot”),fromAncient Greekἀββα,ἀββᾶς(abba, abbâs,“father; abbot”),fromAramaicאבא(’abbā,“father”).Doubletofapát.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):[ˈɒbːeː]
• Hyphenation:ab‧bé
• Rhymes:-beː

Noun

abbé(pluralabbék)

1. abbé(member of the French clergy)
   • 1878,Ferenc Fiáth,Életem és élményeim,volume 1, Budapest: Tettey Nándor és Társa,page157:

     Mert míg a középnemesség, szive minden költészetével ragaszkodott hazájához, nemzetiségéhez, szokásaihoz: addig főuraink legfölebb szánalommal néztek ezen törekvéseinkre; gyermekeiket otthon tanítatták német Hofmeisterek vagy franczia „abbék“által.

     (pleaseadd an English translationof this quotation)

2. (rare)abbot(superior or head of an abbey or monastery)

   Synonym:apát

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	abbé	abbék
accusative	abbét	abbékat
dative	abbénak	abbéknak
instrumental	abbéval	abbékkal
causal-final	abbéért	abbékért
translative	abbévá	abbékká
terminative	abbéig	abbékig
essive-formal	abbéként	abbékként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	abbéban	abbékban
superessive	abbén	abbékon
adessive	abbénál	abbéknál
illative	abbéba	abbékba
sublative	abbéra	abbékra
allative	abbéhoz	abbékhoz
elative	abbéból	abbékból
delative	abbéról	abbékról
ablative	abbétól	abbéktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	abbéé	abbéké
non-attributive possessive - plural	abbééi	abbékéi

Possessive formsofabbé
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	abbém	abbéim
2nd person sing.	abbéd	abbéid
3rd person sing.	abbéja	abbéi
1st person plural	abbénk	abbéink
2nd person plural	abbétok	abbéitok
3rd person plural	abbéjuk	abbéik

Derived terms

• abbéság

Further reading

• abbéinNóra Ittzés, editor,A magyar nyelv nagyszótára[A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó,2006–2031(work in progress; publisheda–ezas of 2024).

Norman

Etymology

FromOld Frenchabé,borrowed fromLatinabbās, abbātis(“abbot”).

Noun

abbém(pluralabbés)

1. (Jersey)abbot

Coordinate terms

• abbêsse(“abbess”)

Related terms

• abbaye(“abbey”)

Norwegian Bokmål

French abbé from the 18th century.

Alternative forms

• abbed

Etymology

FromFrenchabbé(“abbot; honorific given to priests”),fromOld French[Term?],fromLatinabbās, abbātem,fromAncient Greekἀββᾶς(abbâs),alternative form ofἀββα(abba,“father; title of respect given to abbots”)fromAramaicאבא(’abbā,“father, teacher, chief”),fromProto-Semitic*ʔabw-(“father”),fromProto-Afroasiatic*ʔab-,ultimately an onomatopoeic nursery word. Doubletofabbedandabba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/aˈbɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛ
• Hyphenation:a‧bbé

Noun

abbém(definite singularabbéenorabbeen,indefinite pluralabbéerorabbeer,definite pluralabbéeneorabbeene)

1. (Christianity)anabbé(a Frenchabbot,the (male) head of anabbey)
2. anabbé(an honorific title for a member of the Frenchclergy)

References

• “abbé”inDet Norske Akademis ordbok(NAOB).
• “abbé”inStore norske leksikon

Anagrams

• babe,ebba

Slovak

Etymology

From theFrenchabbé(“abbot”),fromLatinabbās(“abbot”),fromAncient Greekἀββᾶς(abbâs),ἀββα(abba),fromAramaicאבא(ʾabbāʾ,“father”).Doubletofopát.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):[ˈabeː]

Noun

abbémpers

1. abbot

Declension

Declension ofabbé

	singular	plural
nominative	abbé	abbéovia
genitive	abbého	abbéov
dative	abbému	abbéom
accusative	abbého	abbéov
locative	abbém	abbéoch
instrumental	abbém	abbéami

References

• “abbé”,inSlovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV[Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak),https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk,2003–2024

Swedish

Etymology

BorrowedfromFrenchabbé(“abbot”)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes:-eː

Noun

abbéc

1. anabbot

Declension

Declension ofabbé

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	abbé	abbés
	definite	abbén	abbéns
plural	indefinite	abbéer	abbéers
	definite	abbéerna	abbéernas

Declension ofabbé

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	abbé	abbés
	definite	abbéen	abbéens
plural	indefinite	abbéer	abbéers
	definite	abbéerna	abbéernas

Further reading

• abbéinSvenska Akademiens ordbok(SAOB)

Anagrams

• Abbe
• Ebba