Definition of "abbacy" [ab•ba•cy]

• The office, term, or jurisdiction of an abbot. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "An event of his abbacy was the interment in Croyland church of the Saxon Earl Walthe of"
• "During the abbacy of Geoffrey (1037-1052) Mary was recognized as the patron of that church in a papal bull dated April 27, 1050, by Pope Leo IX."
• "A large part of the present building was constructed during the abbacy of William Parker, last Abbot of Gloucester, around the year 1520."