English

Proper noun

Abaddon ‎(plural Abaddons)

1. The destroyer, or angel of the bottomless pit; Apollyon; Asmodeus. [First attested from 1350 to 1470]^[3]
2. (poetic) ****; the bottomless pit; a place of destruction. [Late 17^th century.]^[3]
   • John Milton:

     In all her gates, Abaddon rues Thy bold attempt.

Derived terms

• abaddon

Translations

References

1. ↑ Christine A. Lindberg (editor), The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition (Spark Publishing, 2007 [2002], ISBN 978-1-4114-0500-4), page 1
2. ↑ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5), page 3
3. 1 2 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 2

English

Noun

abaddon ‎(plural abaddons)

1. (archaic, British slang) An informer; a criminal who informs on other criminals to the authorities.
   • c. 1839, Report of the Trial of the Great Gold Dust Robbery:

     The prisoner, Money Moses, better known among thieves and fences as Moses the abaddon, has been, to my knowledge, for the last twenty years a receiver and dealer in stolen property.

Synonyms

• grass, nark, stool pigeon, see also Wikisaurus:informant

References

• Barrère, Albert; Leland, Charles Godfrey (1889) A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant, volume 1, page 2
• Farmer, John Stephen (1890) Slang and Its Analogues, volume 1, page 3