: a woman who is the superior of a convent of nuns
Examples of abbess in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebWhen the abbess died in 866, she was buried in the abbey church.—Moira Ritter, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 That makes the abbess a likely candidate for the author of the inscription and marginal doodles.—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2023 One of them was the abbess of a female religious community in Kent from around 733 to 761 CE, which is consistent with the dating of MS Selden Supra 30.—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2023 Groff imagined the poet Marie de France as a teenager forced to venture into the dark woods to serve as the abbess.—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for abbess
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abbess.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English abbesse, borrowed from Anglo-French abbesse, abeiesse, borrowed from Late Latin abbātissa, feminine derivative of abbāt-, abbāsabbot
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