Hypertext Webster Gateway: "abbess"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Abbess \Ab"bess\ ([a^]b"b[e^]s), n. [OF. abaesse, abeesse, F.
abbesse, L. abbatissa, fem. of abbas, abbatis, abbot. See
{Abbot}.]
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. See {Abbey}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
abbess
n : the superior of a group of nuns [syn: {mother superior}, {prioress}]
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