abb.

Noun

abbess (plural abbesses)

1. A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks.
   • The abbess was always after the nuns to keep the convent immaculately clean.

   Synonyms:

   mother superior

2. (British, archaic, slang) A woman who runs a brothel; a woman employed by a prostitute to find clients.
   • Why laſt night, as Colonel Kill'em, Sir William Weezy, Lord Frederick Foretop, and I were careleſsly ſliding the Ranelagh round, picking our teeth, after a damn'd muzzy dinner at Boodle's, who ſhould trip by but an abbeſs, well known about town, with a ſmart little nun in her ſuite.1770, Samuel Foote, The Lame Lover, a Comedy in Three Acts. […], London: […] Paul Vaillant; and sold by P[eter] Elmsly […]; and Robinson and Roberts, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 12

   Synonyms:

   bawd, Covent Garden abbess, lady abbess, madam

Noun

abbey (plural abbeys)

1. The office or dominion of an abbot or abbess.
2. A monastery or society of people, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy, which is headed by an abbot or abbess; also, the monastic building or buildings.
   • Near-synonym: convent

   Synonyms:

   convent

3. The church of a monastery.
   • No, we can't have alphabetical seating in the abbey. You'd have Iraq and Iran next to each other (laugh track)... Plus Israel and Jordan all sitting in the same pew (laugh track)! We'd be in danger of starting World War III (laugh track)!1987 December 17, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “A Diplomatic Incident”, in Yes, Prime Minister, season 2, episode 3, spoken by Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds)
4. (British, English) A residence that was previously an abbatial building.
5. (dialectal, Somerset) The abele or white poplar (Populus alba).
   • Ab'bey. The great white poplar: one of the varieties of the Populus alba.1825, James Jennings, Observations on some of the Dialects of the West of England, page 21

See all 15 meanings of abbey