abigail
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈa.bɪ.ɡeɪl//
- United States//ˈa.bɪ.ɡeɪl//
A lady's maid.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA lady's maid.
It was therefore concluded that the Abigails should, by turns, relieve each other on one of his lordship’s horses, which was presently equipped with a side-saddle for that purpose.
In the servants’ hall two coachmen and three gentlemen’s gentlemen stood or sat round the fire; the abigails, I suppose, were upstairs with their mistresses; the new servants, that had been hired from Millcote, were bustling about everywhere.
No light showed in the coachman's cottage, nor in the grooms' quarters, and no one appeared to offer the least hindrance to Eustacie's escape. She unlocked the door of the harness-room, pulled Lucy in after her, and setting the lantern down on the table, selected a bridle from the wall, and pointed out her saddle to the abigail.
Etymology
From the name Abigail, as given to a waiting-maid in Beaumont and Fletcher's play The Scornful Lady.
Forms
- plural
- abigails