Plural of abbacy; the position, rank, or jurisdiction of an abbot or abbess in a monastery or abbey.
From abbacy (the office of abbot), from abbey, which comes from Latin abbatia, ultimately from Aramaic abba (father).
Abbacy comes from 'abba,' the Aramaic word for 'father'—the head of a monastery was literally called 'Father,' and that term evolved into the formal abbacy position!
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