Abigail

See also: abigail and Abigaíl

English

Etymology

From Hebrew אֲבִיגַיִל (avigáyil, “Abigail”, literally “my Father's joy” or “fountain of joy”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.ə.ɡeɪl/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

Proper noun

Abigail (plural Abigails)

2. (biblical) The wife of Nabal and later of David in the Old Testament.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 25:3:

     Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings.

3. A female given name from Hebrew, used since the 16th century, and currently quite popular.
   • 1912 Edith Tunis Sale: Old Time Belles and Cavaliers. J.B.Lippincott 1912. page 178:

     The name of Abigail Adams is naturally closely associated with those of her illustrious father and mother, - - - Born in 1765, the mother's quaint Christian name was given to the little girl

   • 2023 November 13, Luke Broadwater, “Spanberger Announces Run for Governor in Virginia, Leaving House Seat in Play”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 14 November 2023:

     Representative Abigail Spanberger, a prominent Virginia Democrat who was repeatedly able to win in a conservative-leaning district, announced on Monday that she would run for governor in 2025, leaving open a competitive seat that could be crucial to her party’s efforts to win back control of the House next year.

Related terms

• (pet forms): Abbey, Abbi, Abbie, Abby, Abi, Gail, Gayle
• (rare non-standard spellings): Abbigail, Abbygail, Abigale, Abbigale, Abigayle

Translations

biblical wife of David

• Arabic: أَبِيجَايِل f (ʔabījāyil)
• Catalan: Abigail (ca)
• Dutch: Abigaïl (nl)
• French: Abigaïl (fr), Abigail (fr), Abigaël (fr), Abigael (fr)
• German: Abigail (de), Abigajil
• Greek: Αβιγαία (el) f (Avigaía)

  Ancient Greek: Ἀβιγαία (Abigaía)

• Hebrew: אֲבִיגָיִל (ʾĂḇîḡáyil)
• Hungarian: Abigél (hu)
• Italian: Abigail
• Polish: Abigail (pl) f
• Portuguese: Abigail (pt)
• Russian: Авиге́я (ru) f (Avigéja)
• Spanish: Abigaíl (es)
• Swedish: Abigail (sv)

female given name

• Catalan: Abigail (ca)
• Danish: Abigail, Abigael
• Dutch: Abigail, Abigaïl (nl)
• French: Abigaïl (fr), Abigaël (fr), Abigaëlle (fr)
• German: Abigail (de)
• Hawaiian: ʻApikaʻila
• Hebrew: אביגיל (avigáyil)
• Hungarian: Abigél (hu)
• Italian: Abigaille (it)
• Polish: Abigail (pl) f
• Portuguese: Abigail (pt)
• Russian: Абиге́ль f (Abigélʹ), Абиге́йл (ru) f (Abigéjl), А́биге́л f (Ábigél), Э́бигейл f (Ébigejl), Авиге́я (ru) f (Avigéja)
• Spanish: Abigaíl (es), Abigail (es)
• Swedish: Abigail (sv)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈabɪɡaɪl]

Proper noun

Abigail f

1. a female given name

Declension

Declension of Abigail (soft zero-ending feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	Abigail	Abigaile
genitive	Abigaile	Abigailí
dative	Abigaili	Abigailím
accusative	Abigail	Abigaile
vocative	Abigaili	Abigaile
locative	Abigaili	Abigailích
instrumental	Abigailí	Abigailemi

Further reading

• “Abigail”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “Abigail”, in Akademický slovník současné češtiny, 2012–2026, slovnikcestiny.cz

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.bi.ɡaˈiw/ [a.bi.ɡaˈiʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.bi.ɡɐˈil/ [ɐ.βi.ɣɐˈiɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.bi.ɡɐˈil/ [ɐ.βi.ɣɐˈiɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.bi.ɡɐˈi.li/ [ɐ.βi.ɣɐˈi.li]

Proper noun

Abigail f

1. (biblical) Abigail (wife of David)
2. a female given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Abigail

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English Abigail, from Hebrew אֲבִיגַיִל (avigáyil, “Abigail”, literally “my Father's joy” or “fountain of joy”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔabiɡejl/ [ˌʔaː.bɪˈɣeɪ̯l]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -abiɡejl
• Syllabification: A‧bi‧gail

Proper noun

Ábigaíl (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜊᜒᜄᜒᜌ᜔ᜎ᜔)

1. a female given name from English