An alternative spelling of 'aby,' meaning to suffer the consequences or pay a penalty for wrongdoing.
Variant spelling of 'aby' found in Middle English texts, with the same Old English roots; the '-e' ending was common in older English verb forms.
Medieval writers couldn't decide how to spell this word, so you find 'aby' and 'abye' used interchangeably in old poems—spelling wasn't standardized until dictionaries became common!
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