Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Abba
Ab′ba
(ăb′bȧ)
, Noun.
[Syriac
abbā
father. See Abbot
.] Father; religious superior; – in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, a title given to the bishops, and by the bishops to the patriarch.
Webster 1828 Edition
Abba
AB'BA
,Noun.
In the Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopic churches, it is a title given to the Bishops, and the Bishops bestow the title, by way of distinction, on the Bishop of Alexandria. Hence the title Baba, or Papa, Pope or great father, which the Bishop of Alexandria bore, before the Bishop of Rome.