abbé

See also: abbe, Abbe, Abbé, and Äbbe

English

Alternative forms

• abbe

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French abbé (“abbot”), from Latin abbās (“abbot”). Doublet of abbot.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /æˈbeɪ/, /ˈæb.eɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Noun

abbé (plural abbés)

1. A low-ranking member of the Roman Catholic clergy in France who is not a member of a religious order, is not a priest, and can marry and inherit property; an honorific title for such a clergymember. [mid 16th century]

   Coordinate terms: canon, curate, deacon, vicar; abbot, priest, rector

   • 2011, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 15:

     At graduation [Pierre Simon] Laplace faced an anguishing dilemma. His master’s degree permitted him to take either the priestly vows of celibacy or the title of abbé, signifying a low-ranking clergyman who could marry and inherit property. Abbés did not have good reputations; Voltaire called them “that indefinable being which is neither ecclesiastic nor secular . . . young men, who are known for their debauchery.” An engraving of the period, “What Does the Abbé Think of It?” shows the clergyman peering appreciatively down a lady’s bosom as she dresses. Still, the elder Laplace wanted his son to become a clergyman. If Laplace had been willing to become an abbé, his father might have helped him financially, and Laplace could have combined church and science. A number of abbés supported themselves in science, the most famous being Jean Antoine Nollet, who demonstrated spectacular physics experiments to the paying public.

2. (obsolete) A French abbot, the (male) head of an abbey. [mid 16th century]

Translations

French clergy

• Dutch: abbé (nl) m,
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: abbé m

References

• William Morris, editor (1969 (1971 printing)), “abbé”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New York, N.Y.: American Heritage Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 2.
• Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 2
• Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “abbé”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 2.
• Laurence Urdang (editor), The Random House College Dictionary (Random House, 1984 [1975], →ISBN), page 2
• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abbé”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.

Anagrams

• Babe, babe

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French abé, borrowed from Latin abbātem, from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶ (abbâ), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Compare English abbot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.be/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

abbé m (plural abbés, feminine abbesse)

1. an abbot, the head of an abbey
2. (dated) a low-ranking member of the Roman Catholic clergy in France who is not a member of a religious order, is not a priest, and can marry and inherit property; an honorific title for such a clergymember

   Coordinate terms: chanoine, diacre, prêtre; père (title)

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “abbot”): abbesse (abbess) (female head of an abbey)

Related terms

• abbatial
• abbatiale
• abbaye
• abbesse

Descendants

• → English: abbé
• → German: Abbé
• → Norwegian Bokmål: abbé
• → Slovak: abbé
• → Swedish: abbé

Further reading

• “abbé”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from French abbé (“abbot”), from Latin abbās (“abbot”), from Ancient Greek ἀββα, ἀββᾶς (abba, abbâs, “father; abbot”), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of apát.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒbːeː]
• Hyphenation: ab‧bé
• Rhymes: -beː

Noun

abbé (plural abbék)

1. abbé (member of the French clergy)
   • 1878, Ferenc Fiáth, Életem és élményeim, volume 1, Budapest: Tettey Nándor és Társa, page 157:

     Mert míg a középnemesség, szive minden költészetével ragaszkodott hazájához, nemzetiségéhez, szokásaihoz: addig főuraink legfölebb szánalommal néztek ezen törekvéseinkre; gyermekeiket otthon tanítatták német Hofmeisterek vagy franczia „abbék“ által.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (rare) abbot (superior or head of an abbey or monastery)

   Synonym: apát

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	abbé	abbék
accusative	abbét	abbékat
dative	abbénak	abbéknak
instrumental	abbéval	abbékkal
causal-final	abbéért	abbékért
translative	abbévá	abbékká
terminative	abbéig	abbékig
essive-formal	abbéként	abbékként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	abbéban	abbékban
superessive	abbén	abbékon
adessive	abbénál	abbéknál
illative	abbéba	abbékba
sublative	abbéra	abbékra
allative	abbéhoz	abbékhoz
elative	abbéból	abbékból
delative	abbéról	abbékról
ablative	abbétól	abbéktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	abbéé	abbéké
non-attributive possessive - plural	abbééi	abbékéi

Possessive forms of abbé
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	abbém	abbéim
2nd person sing.	abbéd	abbéid
3rd person sing.	abbéja	abbéi
1st person plural	abbénk	abbéink
2nd person plural	abbétok	abbéitok
3rd person plural	abbéjuk	abbéik

Derived terms

• abbéság

 

Further reading

• abbé in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Norman

Etymology

From Old French abé, borrowed from Latin abbās, abbātis (“abbot”).

Noun

abbé m (plural abbés)

1. (Jersey) abbot

Coordinate terms

• abbêsse (“abbess”)

Related terms

• abbaye (“abbey”)

Norwegian Bokmål

French abbé from the 18th century.

Alternative forms

• abbed

Etymology

From French abbé (“abbot; honorific given to priests”), from Old French [Term?], from Latin abbās, abbātem, from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), alternative form of ἀββα (abba, “father; title of respect given to abbots”) from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father, teacher, chief”), from Proto-Semitic *ʔabw- (“father”), from Proto-Afroasiatic *ʔab-, ultimately an onomatopoeic nursery word. Doublet of abbed and abba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈbɛ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛ
• Hyphenation: a‧bbé

Noun

abbé m (definite singular abbéen or abbeen, indefinite plural abbéer or abbeer, definite plural abbéene or abbeene)

1. (Christianity) an abbé (a French abbot, the (male) head of an abbey)
2. an abbé (an honorific title for a member of the French clergy)

References

• “abbé” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “abbé” in Store norske leksikon

Anagrams

• babe, ebba

Slovak

Etymology

From the French abbé (“abbot”), from Latin abbās (“abbot”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), ἀββα (abba), from Aramaic אבא (ʾabbāʾ, “father”). Doublet of opát.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈabeː]

Noun

abbé m pers

1. abbot

Declension

Declension of abbé

	singular	plural
nominative	abbé	abbéovia
genitive	abbého	abbéov
dative	abbému	abbéom
accusative	abbého	abbéov
locative	abbém	abbéoch
instrumental	abbém	abbéami

References

• “abbé”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2024

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from French abbé (“abbot”)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eː

Noun

abbé c

1. an abbot

Declension

Declension of abbé

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	abbé	abbés
	definite	abbén	abbéns
plural	indefinite	abbéer	abbéers
	definite	abbéerna	abbéernas

Declension of abbé

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	abbé	abbés
	definite	abbéen	abbéens
plural	indefinite	abbéer	abbéers
	definite	abbéerna	abbéernas

Further reading

• abbé in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• Abbe
• Ebba