abatis 
in the earth or secured by pickets, and the 
sharpened ends of the branches directed up- 
ward and outward toward an advancing en- 
emy, for the purpose of obstructing his pro- 
gress. In field-fortifications the abatis is usually con- 
structed in front of the ditch. See fortification. 
2. In eoal-miniii;/, walls of cord-wood piled up 
crosswise to keep the underground roads open 
so as to secure ventilation. [Leicestershire, 
Eug.] 
abatised, abattised (ab'a-tist), p. a. Provided 
with an abatis. 
abat-jour (a-ba'zhor), n. [F. , any contrivance 
or apparatus to admit light, or to throw it in a 
desired direction, as a lamp-shade ; < abattre, 
throw down (see abate), +joitr, day, daylight : 
see journal.] 1. A skylight, or any beveled ap- 
erture made in the wall of an apartment or in 
a roof, for the better admission of light from 
above. 2. A sloping, box-like structure, flar- 
ing upward and open at the top, attached to a 
window on the outside, to prevent those within 
from seeing objects below, or for the purpose 
of directing light downward into the window. 
abater (a-ba'tor), . [Also abater; < abate + 
-er l , -or%.] One who or that which abates. 
Specifically, in la-w: (a) A person who without right 
enters into a freehold, on the death of the last possessor, 
before the heir or devisee. (6) An agent or cause by which 
an abatement is procured, (c) One who removes a nui- 
sance. See abate, abatement. 
abattis, n. See abatis^. 
abattoir (a-bat-wor'), n. [F., < abatt-re, .knock 
down, slaughter, + -oir (< L. -orium), indicating 
place.] A public slaughter-house. In Europe 
and in the United States abattoirs of great size have been 
erected and provided with elaborate machinery for the 
humane and rapid slaughter of 
large numbers of animals, and 
for the proper commercial and 
sanitary disposal of the waste 
material. 
a battuta (a bat-to'ta). 
[It.: see bate\ batter^.] 
With the beat. In music, a 
direction to resume strict time 
after the free declamation of a 
singer: chiefly used in recita 
tives. It is equivalent to a 
tempo. Grove. 
abature (ab'a-tur), n. [< 
OF. abatture, a throwing 
down, pi. abattures, un- 
derbrusn trampled down, 
< abatre, beat down: see 
abate, v.] The mark or 
track of a beast of the 
chase on the grass; foil- 
ing. 
abat-vent (a-ba'von), 11. 
[F., < abattre, throw down (see abate), + vent, 
wind : see vent.] 1. A vertical series of slop- 
iug roofs or broad slats, inclined outward and 
downward, forming 
the filling of a belfry- 
light, and designed to 
admit ventilation to 
the timber frame 
while protecting the 
interior from rain 
and wind, and to di- 
rect downward the 
sound of the bells. 
2. A sloping roof, as 
that of a penthouse : 
so named because the 
slope neutralizes the 
force of the wind. 
3. Any contrivance 
designed to act as a 
shelter or protection 
from the wind. Specifi- 
eally, a revolving metal- 
lic cap carrying a vane, 
attached to the top of a 
chimney to keep the wind 
from blowing directly 
down its throat. 
Abat-vent, 13111 century. 
, Aba ,. voix , pulpit of Trinity Church, 
M. [F., < abattre (see New York. 
abate,v. ) + voix, voice : 
see voice.] A sounding-board over a pulpit 
or rostrum, designed to reflect the speaker's 
C 
voice downward toward the audience, or in 
any desired direction. 
abawet, v. t. [< ME. abatceii, abauen, < OF. abau- 
bir, astonish, < a- + baitbir, baubirr, stammer, 
< L. balbutire, stammer, < balbus (OF. baube), 
stammering: see booby mid balbuties. The ME. 
form and sense seem to have been affected by 
OF. abahir, ebahir, cxbahir, be astonished, for 
which see abash.] To abash; dazzle; astonish. 
I was abawed for raarveile. Roin. of Rose, 1. 364*5. 
abaxial (ab-ak'si-al), . Same as dbatile. 
abaxile (ab-ak'sil), a. [<L. aft, away from, 
+ ajcin: see axile.] Not in the axis, specifically, 
in trot., applied to an embryo placed out of the axis of 
the seed. Another form is abaxial. 
abb (ab), n. [< ME. abbe,<. AS. 06, short for uiceb, 
woof, < awefan (= OHG. arweban, G. eneeben), 
weave. < a- + wefan, weave: see -l and tceave, 
web. From another form of aweb, namely, 
oweb, owef, comes E. woof, q. v.] 1. Yarn for 
the warp in weaving. 2. In wool-sorting, one 
of two qualities of wool known as coarse abb 
and fine abb respectively. 
abba' 1 (ab'a), n. [L., < Gr. a/i/id, < Syriac abba 
and abbo = Chal. abba = Heb. ao, father. See 
abbot.] Father. It is used in the New Testament 
three times (Mark xiv. 36, Rom. viii. 15, Gal. iv. 6), in each 
instance accompanied by its translation, " Abba, Father," 
as an invocation of the Deity, expressing close filial rela- 
tion. Either through its liturgical use in the Judeo- 
Christian church or through its employment by the Syriac 
monks, it has passed into general ecclesiastical language 
in the modified form of abbot or abbot (which see). 
abba 2 , . See a&a 1 . 
abbacinate (a-bas'i-nat), . t. ; pret. and pp. 
abbacinated, ppr. abbacinating. [<ML. abaci- 
natus, pp. of abacinare (It. abbacinare = OF. 
abaciner), < a- for ad-, to, + baciniix, basin : 
see basin.'] To deprive of sight by placing a 
red-hot copper basin close to the eyes: a 
mode of punishment employed in the middle 
ages. Also spelled abacinate. 
abbacination (a-bas-i-na'shon), n. [<abbati- 
nate.] The act or process of blinding a per- 
son by placing a red-hot copper basin close to 
the eyes. Also spelled abacination. 
abbacy (ab'a-si), . ; pi. abbacies (-siz). [Earlier 
abbatie, < LiL. abbatia: see abbey 1 .'] 1. The 
office of an abbot ; an abbot's dignity, rights, 
privileges, and jurisdiction. 
According to Felinus, an abbacy is the dignity itself, 
since abbot is a term or word of dignity, and not of office. 
AylijTe, Parergon. 
Owing to the vast wealth of the church, the chief offices 
in it, and especially the bishoprics and the great abbaciejt, 
had become positions of great worldly power and dignity. 
StilU, Stud. Med. Hist., p. 286. 
2. An abbatial establishment ; an abbey with 
all that pertains to it. 
The abbot was elected by the monks of the monastery, 
at least in the greater part of abbacies. 
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, v. 1. 
Also called abbotcy. 
abbandonatamente(ab-ban-d6-na-ta-men'te), 
adv. [It., < abbandonata, fern. pp. of abban- 
donare (see abandon), + adv. suffix -mente, orig. 
L. mente, abl. of mens, mind: see mental. ] In 
music, with abandonment ; so aa to make the 
time subordinate to the expression. 
abbast, . [Pers.] 1. An Eastern weight for 
pearls, said to be 2J grains troy. Also spelled 
abas. 2. Same as abbasi, 1. 
abbasi (a-bas'i), n. [Said to be named from the 
Persian ruler Shah Abbas II.] 1. The name 
of a silver coin formerly current in Persia. 
It is not certain to what particular coin the term was ap- 
plied ; according to Marsden, various pieces coined in 
1684, 1700, and 1701, and weighing about 4 dwt. 17 gr., are 
abbasis, and are worth about 29 cents. 
2. The 20-copeck silver piece circulating in 
Russia, weighing about 61 grains, .500 fine, 
and worth about 8J cents. 
Also written abas.fi, abatisis. 
abbatt (ab'at), n. Same as abbot. 
abbate (ab-ba'te), n. ; pi. abbati (-ti). [It., also 
abate, <L. abbatem, ace. of abbas: see abbot.'] 
A title of honor, now given to ecclesiastics 
in Italy not otherwise designated, but formerly 
applied to all in any way connected with cler- 
ical affairs, tribunals, etc., and wearing the ec- 
clesiastical dress. Also spelled abate. 
An old Abate meek and mild, 
My friend and teacher when a child. 
Longfellow, Wayside Inn, 3d Inter. 
abbatesset, See abbotess. 
abbatial (a-ba'shial), a. [< ML. abbatialis, < 
LL. abbatia : see abbacy.'] Pertaining to an 
abbot or abbey : as, an abbatial benediction ; 
abbatial lands. 
abbaticalt (a-bat'i-kal), . Same as abbatial. 
abbey 
Middle English forms of 
abbayt, abbayet, 
abbry 1 . 
They carried him into the next tiM'iin. 
Chaucer, "Prior's Tale. 
They would rend this aUmii,'* massy nave. 
Hfi'tt. L. of L. M., ii. 14. 
abbe (a-ba'), . [F.,< L. abltatem, ace. of abba* : 
see abbot.] In France, an abbot, (o) More gen- 
erally, and especially before the Kmich revolution : (1) 
Any secular person, whether ecclesiastic or layman, hold- 
ing an abbey in <-i,nu< n'litin, that is. enjoying a portion, 
generally about one third, of its revenues, with ccrtainhon- 
ors, but, except by privilege from the pope, having no ju- 
risdiction over the monks, and not bound to residence. 
Such persons were styled fc( : wmmtndttalm, and were 
required to be in orders, though a dispensation from this 
requirement was not uncommonly obtained. (2) A title 
assumed, either in the hope of obtaining an abbey or for 
the sake of distinction, by a numerous class of men who 
had studied theology, practised celibacy, and adopted a 
peculiar dress, but who had only a formal connection with 
the church, and were for the most part employed as tu- 
tors in the families of the nobility, or engaged in liternry 
pursuits. (6) In recent usage, a title assumed, like th>- 
Italian title abbate (which see), by a class of unbeneficed 
secular clerks. 
abbess (ab'es), n. [< ME. abbesse, abbes, < OF. 
abbesse, abesse = Pr. abadessa, < L. abbtitixxa. 
fern, of abbati : see abbot, and cf . abbotess.] 1. A 
female superior of a convent of nuns, regularly 
in the same religious orders in which the monks 
are governed by an abbot ; also, a superior of 
canonesses. An abbess is, in general, elected by the 
nuns, and is subject to the bishop of the diocese, by whom 
she is invested according to a special rite called the bene- 
dii-tittn of an abbexg. She must be at least forty years of 
age, and must have been for eight years a nun in the 
same monastery. She has the government of the convent, 
with the administration of the goods of the Community, 
but cannot, on account of her sex, exercise any of the 
spiritual functions pertaining to the priesthood. Some- 
times civil or feudal rights have been attached to the 
office of abbess, as also jurisdiction over other subordinate 
convents. 
2. A title retained in Hanover, Wurtemberg, 
Brunswick, and Schleswig-Holstein by the 
lady superiors of the Protestant seminaries and 
sisterhoods to which the property of certain 
convents was transferred at the Reformation. 
abbey 1 (ab'e), . [< ME. abbeye, abbaye, etc., 
< OF. abeie, abaie, < LL. abbatia, an abbey, < L. 
abbas, an abbot: see abbot.] 1. A monastery 
or convent of 
persons of either 
sex devoted to 
religion and cel- 
ibacy, and gov- 
erned by an 
abbot or abbess 
(which see). 
Jityal and imperial 
abbeys were depen- 
dent on the supreme 
civil authority in 
their temporal ad- 
ministration ; others 
were episcopal, etc. 
In exempt abbeys, 
the abbot or abbess 
is subject not to the 
bishop of the dio- 
cese, but directly to 
the pope. 
2. The build- 
ings of a mon- 
Plan of the Abbey of St. Germain-des-Pres, 
Paris, in the I3th century. 
A, church; B, cloister ; C, 
country yate, or ~ 
cloister ; C, city gate ; 
Porte Papale ; E, chapi 
nitories aoove ; F, Cha 
D, 
astery or con- 
vent ; 
some- 
house.'wTth dormitories above; F, Chapel +; ImJ1 . ITI 
of the Virgin ; G, refectory ; H. cellars and l *.? *V" "" " 
presses; 17 abbotfs lodging ; K, ditches ; L. mar, the llOUSC 
gardens ; M, various dependencies. ge( . apart f OJ . tt(J 
residence of the abbot or abbess. After the sup- 
pression of the English monasteries by Henry VIII. many 
of the abbatial buildings were converted into private 
dwellings, to which the name abbey is still applied, as, for 
example, Newstead Abbey, the residence of Lord Byron. 
3. A church now or formerly attached to a 
monastery or convent: as, Westminster Abbey. 
4. In Scotland, the sanctuary formerly af- 
forded by the abbey of Holyrood Palace, as 
having been a royal residence, 
abbey* (ab'e), . [Prob. a modification of 
abele, q. v., in simulation of abbei/ 1 .] A name 
sometimes given to the white poplar, Populus 
alba. [Eng.] 
Obverse. Reverse. 
Abbey-counter, in the British Museum. 
