abbess

Meaning

Noun

• A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks.
• A woman who runs a brothel; a woman employed by a prostitute to find clients.

Related

Similar words

• mother superior
• bawd, Covent Garden abbess, lady abbess, madam

Origin

• From Middle English abbesse, from Old French abeesse (French abbesse), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin abbatissa, feminine of Latin abbas, abbatis.