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abbot

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "abbot", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "abbot" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "abbot" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

abbot is aEnglishnoun. It means: The superior or head of an abbey or monastery. Pronounced /ˈæb.ət/. Often confused with abo and alot.

Key facts for abbot
PropertyValue
Headwordabbot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæb.ət/
Letters5
Frequency rank#16,395
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of abbot in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for abbot is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæb.ət/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,395 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for abbot, with forms such as "abbto", "abobt", and "abot". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "abo", "alot", "Abby", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abbot, abbod, abbed, from Old English abbat, abbad, abbod, from Latin abbās (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of abba, abbé, and bwana. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is abbot, spelled A-B-B-O-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The superior or head of an abbey or monastery.
  2. 2
    The pastor or administrator of an order, including minor and major orders starting with the minor order of porter.
  3. 3
    A layman who received the abbey's revenues, after the closing of the monasteries.
  4. 4
    A brothel-owner's husband or lover.
  5. 5
    A ponce; a man employed by a prostitute to find clients, and who may also act as a bodyguard or equivalent to a bouncer.

Etymology

From Middle English abbot, abbod, abbed, from Old English abbat, abbad, abbod, from Latin abbās (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of abba, abbé, and bwana.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abbto,abobt,abot,babot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for abbot

Misspelling Variants of "abbot"

abbto5abobt5abot4babot5
Misspelling Variants of "abbot"

Frequency rank: #16,395 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abbot"?
"abbot" is spelled A-B-B-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæb.ət/.
What does "abbot" mean?
As a noun, "abbot" means: The superior or head of an abbey or monastery.
What words are commonly confused with "abbot"?
"abbot" is commonly confused with "abo", "alot", "Abby". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abbot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abbot" is /ˈæb.ət/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abbot"?
From Middle English abbot, abbod, abbed, from Old English abbat, abbad, abbod, from Latin abbās (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אבא (’abbā, “father”). Doublet of abba, abbé, and bwana. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.