English

Proper noun

Abigail ‎(plural Abigails)

1. The wife of Nabal and later of David in the Old Testament.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Samuel-Chapter-25/#3 1 Samuel 25:3::

     Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings.

2. A female given name, used since the 16th century, and currently quite popular.
   • 1912 Edith Tunis Sale: Old Time Belles and Cavaliers. J.B.Lippincott 1912. page 178:

     The name of Abigail Adams is naturally closely associated with those of her illustrious father and mother, - - - Born in 1765, the mother's quaint Christian name was given to the little girl

Related terms

• (pet forms): Abbey, Abbi, Abbie, Abby, Abi, Gail, Gayle
• (rare non-standard spellings): Abbigail, Abbygail, Abigale, Abigayle

Translations

Portuguese

Proper noun

Abigail f

1. (biblical) Abigail (wife of David)
2. A female given name, equivalent to English Abigail.

English

Noun

abigail ‎(plural abigails)

1. (obsolete) A lady’s waiting maid. [Mid 17^th century.]^[1]
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, page 415:

     It was therefore concluded that the Abigails should, by turns, relieve each other on one of his lordship’s horses, which was presently equipped with a side-saddle for that purpose.

   • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre:

     In the servants’ hall two coachmen and three gentlemen’s gentlemen stood or sat round the fire; the abigails, I suppose, were upstairs with their mistresses; the new servants, that had been hired from Millcote, were bustling about everywhere.

Translations

References

1. ↑ Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 4

• abigail in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• abigail in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Barrère, Albert; Leland, Charles Godfrey (1889) A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant, volume 1, pages 4–5
• Farmer, John Stephen (1890) Slang and Its Analogues, volume 1, page 5–6