abigail

¹ American  

[ab-i-geyl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. a lady's maid.

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Abigail ² American  

[ab-i-geyl] / ˈæb ɪˌgeɪl /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the wife of Nabal and later of David.

2. a first name: from a Hebrew word meaning “joy of the father.”

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Abigail British  

/ ˈæbɪˌɡeɪl /

noun

1. Old Testament the woman who brought provisions to David and his followers and subsequently became his wife (I Samuel 25:1–42)

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Etymology

Origin of abigail

1645–55; after Abigail, name of attendant in play The Scornful Lady (1610), by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher

Example Sentences

The abigail carried the letter to the boy, and the boy departed, very well pleased to get clear of the castle without having received any further reproof.

From Run to Earth A Novel by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)

I have prepared, however, another carriage for the abigail, and all the trumpery which our wives drag along with them.

From Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 3 With His Letters and Journals by Moore, Thomas

On the left is the cunning abigail, who supplanted the duchess in the favour of Queen Anne—Mrs. Masham.

From Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad with Tales and Miscellanies Now First Collected Vol. II (of 3) by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)

And, of course, the abigail swore to the fact.

From Barry Lyndon by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Mungo was despatched for Annapla, and speedily the silent abigail of visions was engaged upon that truly Gaelic courtesy, the bathing of the traveller's feet.

From Doom Castle by Munro, Neil