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Clarke, who was the abbot of St. Mary’s Abbey from 1975 to 1995, died in 2019.—Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 23 Aug. 2025 The abbots also disputed her claims of being underpaid and forced into long hours of secular work.—Sydney Barragan, Oc Register, 16 Aug. 2025 Persuaded by his students, the abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, Suzuki Roshi, attended and sat by the stage smiling and holding a flower.—Dennis McNally, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025 Wright was assigned the role of prior, the position just below the abbot, and was responsible for much of the operation of the abbey.—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for abbot
Word History
Etymology
Middle English abbot, abbod, going back to Old English, borrowed from Late Latin abbāt-, abbās, borrowed from Late Greek abbâs (also, a title of respect given to monks), borrowed from Aramaic abbā "father"
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of abbot was
before the 12th century
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