Abby

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A feminine first name that is a familiar short form of Abigail ; an alternate spelling of abbey, meaning a religious community house of monks or nuns
2. A short form of the girls' name Abigail ; a variant spelling for a monastic house led by an abbot or abbess
3. Used as a familiar nickname for Abigail ; a less common spelling of a monastery or convent run by monks or nuns

Etymology: "Abby" is simply an obsolete spelling of "abbey," so its story is the story of that word. The root goes back to Classical Latin "abbās," meaning "abbot," a word that itself came from Aramaic "abbā," "father." Late Latin then formed "abbātia," the community ruled by an abbot, and this passed into Old French as "abaïe" before English took it up in the Middle Ages. The word's meaning stayed close to its origin: an abbey was a religious house governed by an abbot, not simply any monastery or church building. The spelling "abby" was once common, and the modern form with the double "b" and final "ey" settled in later, so "abby" now appears mainly in older texts or as a deliberate archaism.