abbotess

English

Etymology

From Middle English abbodesse, from Old English abbadisse, abbodyse, from Medieval Latin abbātissa; equivalent to abbot +‎ -ess.

Noun

abbotess (plural abbotesses)

1. Obsolete form of abbess. [attested until the late 17th century]

References

• Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 2
• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abbotess”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 3.