Abigail (name)

For usage of the single name "Abigail", see Abigail (disambiguation).
Abigail
Pronunciation /ˈæbɨɡl/ AB-i-gayl
Gender Female
Language(s) Hebrew language
Origin
Meaning Father Rejoice or Father's Joy
Other names
See also Abby, Abbie, Abbey, Abi, Gail, Gayle, Gale
Look up Abigail in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Abigail is a female given name. The name comes from the Hebrew name אֲבִיגַיִל / אֲבִיגָיִל Avigail, meaning "my father's joy" (alternatively "my father rejoices", or "my father is joy").[1]

Abigail was the wife of King David in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Samuel), and is described as an intelligent and beautiful woman.

The name Abigail can be shortened to "Abby", "Abbey", "Abbi", "Abbie", "Abbe", "Abi", "Abbye", "Abs", or "Aby", as well as "Gail" or "Gayle."

Translations

People with the given name Abigail

Used as a pseudonym:

Fictional characters

See also

References

Notes

  1. from either the verbal root g-y-l "to rejoice" directly, or from the root noun gil "rejoicing, joy". Adele Berlin in: Carol L. Meyers, Toni Craven, Ross Shepard Kraemer (eds.), Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, p. 43
  2. Superanskaya, p. 250

Sources