abbey
ab-bey · noun
Definitions
noun
- 1.
A building or complex of buildings occupied by a community of monks or nuns, governed by an abbot or abbess.
- 2.
A church that was once part of a monastery.
Forms
plural: abbeys
Phrases & expressions
- •abbey church — The main church of an abbey complex.
Related words
Etymology
From Middle English abbeye, from Old French abaïe, from Late Latin abbātia, from abbās ("abbot"), from Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (abbā, "father").