Abigail

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A female personal name of Hebrew origin, often used in English-speaking countries
2. A woman's first name derived from biblical roots, commonly given at birth
3. A female name historically found in religious texts and modern usage

Etymology: The name "Abigail" is best known from the Hebrew Bible, where Abigail is the wise and quick-thinking wife of Nabal who averts David's vengeance, but its common meaning as a generic term for a servant girl comes from a 17th-century English stage. In Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's play "The Scornful Lady," a waiting-maid is given the name Abigail, and the name became so associated with such a character that it was used as a common noun for a lady's maid. The noun is therefore a case of a proper name turning into a common word through a single literary character. Audiences of the period evidently recognised the name as the stock title for a servant, and the usage spread from there. Today the lowercase form is rarely heard, while the capitalised name remains a popular given name in English-speaking countries.

Synonyms: maid, servant