ABBEY

Abbey

An abbey has historically been a Catholic or, more recently, Anglican monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.

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abbey

Noun

  1. The office or dominion of an abbot or abbess. <ref name=SOED/>
  2. A monastery or society of people, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy, which is headed by an abbot or abbess; also, the monastic building or buildings.
    From 1199 to 1203 William Punchard was the abbot of the abbey of Rievaulx, which was part of the Cistercian order of monks.
  3. The church of a monastery. <ref name=SOED/>
  4. A residence that was previously an abbatial building.<ref name=SOED/>
  5. In London, the Abbey is short for Westminster Abbey, and in Scotland, the precincts of the Abbey of Holyrood.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: abbey
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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