abbey

abbey — noun

1. a religious complex — usually built around an impressive old church — that house

1.nounB2
Definition

a religious complex — usually built around an impressive old church — that houses, or once housed, a community of monks or nuns living under vows; many of these complexes today serve as parish churches or tourist sites.

Example

Camille took the children on a guided tour of the medieval abbey just outside York.

tour of the [period] abbey

Princess Diana's funeral was held at Westminster Abbey on a cold September morning.

proper name: Westminster Abbey

Common collocations
  • medieval abbey
  • ruined abbey
  • Benedictine abbey
  • abbey church
  • abbey ruins
Synonyms
  • monastery

    usually for monks only; broader, includes places without a large church

  • convent

    specifically for nuns; rarely includes a large church

  • priory

    smaller religious house, ranked below an abbey, headed by a prior or prioress

Grammar Patterns

the + Abbey (in proper names)

Usage Note

Frequently capitalised as part of a proper name (Westminster Abbey, Downside Abbey). When lowercase, often modified by adjectives signalling age or condition: medieval, ruined, ancient, restored.

Common Mistakes

A nun lives in an abbey for women called a monastery.
A nun lives in a convent or abbey.
'monastery' usually houses monks; an abbey may house either monks or nuns.

Word family

  • abbot
    nounC1
  • abbess
    nounC1
  • abbatial
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a religious community's home, but they differ in who lives there and how grand the buildings are. A monastery is the broadest term and typically suggests a community of monks; it may be modest or large. A convent almost always houses nuns and rarely includes a large public church. An abbey is a self-governing house, headed by an abbot or abbess, and usually centres on an impressive church that visitors can enter. A priory ranks just below an abbey: smaller, dependent on a parent house, and led by a prior. So you might say 'the monks live in a quiet monastery in the hills', but 'tourists queue every morning to enter Westminster Abbey'.

abbey ↗monasteryconventpriory

Common collocations

Nouns

  • abbey church
  • abbey ruins
  • abbey grounds
  • abbey gate

Phrases

  • a tour of the abbey
  • buried at the abbey

Prepositions

  • at the abbey
  • in the abbey
  • of the abbey

Etymology

AramaicGreekLatinOld FrenchEnglish

Abbey reached English in the early 1300s through Old French 'abbeie', which itself came from Late Latin 'abbatia' meaning 'the office or estate of an abbot'. The root word 'abbas' (abbot) was borrowed into Latin from Greek and ultimately from Aramaic 'abba', meaning 'father' — the title early monks gave to the spiritual head of their community. So at heart, an abbey is simply 'the father's house'.