named after Schah Abbas II. under whom it was first struck. Itis worth nearly eighteen-pence British .

AB ASS LA, a kingdom in Ethiopia Proper.

ABATAMENTUM, in law, an entry to lands by interposi-tion ; i. e. when a person dies infeoifted, and another, who has noright, enters before the heir.

ABATE, in the manege. A horse is said to abate, or takedown his curvets, when lie puts both his hinder-legs to the groundat once, and observes the same exactness in all the times.

Abate, in law, signifies to overthrow, demolish, or destroy.It is likewise used to denote the act of him w ho steps into an estate,void by the death of the last possessor, before the heir can enter,and by tills means keeps him out.

^ ABA'l ELEMENT, is used for a prohibition of trade to allFrench merchants in the ports of the Levant, whow'ill not stand totheir bargains, or who refuse to pay their debts.

The abateiement is a sentence of the French consul, and must betaken off before thev can sue any person for the payment of their debts.

ABATEMENT, inlaw, signities the rejecting of a suit, on ac-count of some fault either in the matter, or proceeding. Hence,plea in abatement is some exception alledged and proved, againstthe plaintiff's writ, declaration, &c. and praying that the plaintmay abate or cease; which being granted, all writs in the processmust begin de novo.

Abatement is also an irregular entry upon houses or lands, andin this sense, is almost synonimous w ith intrusion.

Abatement, in heraldry, a mark which is attached to a coat ofami?, in order to lessen its true dignity, and point out some imper-fection or stain in the character of the person w ho bears it. Abate-ments are either made by reversion or diminution; the wholeescutcheon being turned upside down, or another inverted oneadded, in the former case; and as to diminutions, they are either adelf, a point, a point dexter, a point champain, a plain point, agoar sinister, or two gus-ets.

Abatement, in commerce, is a discretionary allowance for da-mage of goods sold, for a defect of weight, or measure, on accountof bad markets, &c. Also rebate or discount.

ABATIS, or ABBAT IS, in writers of the middle age, an officer inthe stables of princes; so called, according to l3ucange, frombatum, an ancient measure of corn.

Abatis, or Abbatis, [from Abbatre to pull down F.~\ in fortifi-cation, a heap of large trees thrown together, to guard intrench-inents, obstruct roads, and prevent the approaches of an enemy.

ABATOll, in law, one who enters into a house or lands, voidby the death of the last possessor, before the true heir; and therebykeeps him out, till he brings the writ intrusiane.

ABATOS, in ancient geography, an island in the lake Moeris ,famous for its papyrus, and for being fhe burying place of Osiris .

ABATTUTa, in music, an expression, by a recitative or can-labile ad libitum ; generally employed after a break in the time of'•my piece, to shew that die measure is to be resumed.

ABAVJ, ABAVO, orABAVUM. See Adansonia.

ABB, in our old writers, is used for the yarn of a weaver’s warp;and hence the wool of which it was made, had the name of abb-wool.

ABBA, iii ancient geography, a town of Africa, near Carthage .

Abba, [Syr. N3S. Heb. 3S.] ASvriacword, whichsignifies/idAtr.It means also figuratively, a superior, reputed as a father, in respectof age, dignity, or affection. It is more particularly used in thehynac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, as a title given to the" ps. '1 he bishops themselves bestow the title Abba more emi-nently on the bishop of Alexandria.

. ABBAD1E, James, an eminent protestant divine, born at Nay

m Bern, in 1654. In 1990 , became into England, was minister

. a I'Tench church in London , and was made dean of Killaloe,

i 7 o lelau<1 ' at ^t. Mary-le-boime, near London , in

, . , ’ aged 73. He was a zealous defender of the Protestant faith, ...-n <-.i t>..... t ..

a ~..v .. .sen , ii izcicuce oi me nriusii iMation; The Deity

_Christ essential to die Christian Religion ; the History of

fhe last Conspiracy in England, written by order cf King William1H; and the Triumph of Providence and Religion, or the opening®f the Seven Seals bv the Son of God.

ABBAS, the son of Abdalmothleb, and Mohammed’s uncle. 11commenced a doctor of the Mussulman law, ai.d read lectures upon

the Koran. He died in 652, and his memory is still highly vene-rated by the Mussulmans.

Abbas, Abut, surnamedj Safl’ah, the first khalif, in whom beganthe d\ nasty of the Abbassides .

ABBASS1DES, a race of khalifs, so named from their proge-nitor Abul Abbas, who possessed the klialifate for 524 years. Ofthese, 37 succeeded each other without interruption.

ABBE', the denomination of a class of persons in France , whohave not obtained any fixed settlement in the church, but areexpectants of one that may happen to become vacant. Their dressis rather that of an Academic, or of a professed scholar, than of ailecclesiastic.

ABBESS, the superior of a convent of nuns. The abbess en-joys the same privileges, and has die same authority over hermins, that the abbots have over their monks ; spiritual functionsonly excepted, of w hich the sex renders her incapable.

ABBEY, the name of such religious houses as are governed bya superior, under the title of abbot or abbess. Abbeys difler innothing from priories, except that the latter are governed bypriors, instead of abbots.

The abbeys of England, at their dissolution under K. HenryVlll. became lay fees ; no less than 190 were then dissolved, ofbetween 200/. and 35,000/. yearly revenue, which at a mediumamounted to 2,853,000/. per annum; an immense sum in those days.

The abbey lauds before (his dissolution were chiefly tythe free;and these exemptions were continued to the lay possessors by theact 31 Hen. viii. c. 13.

ABBEY-BOYLE, a town of Ireland , in the county of Ros-common, and province of Connaught , remarkable for ail old ab-bey. It lies 23 miles N. of Roscommon. Lon. 8. 32. W. Lat..53. 56. N.

ABBEY-IIOLM, a town in Cumberland. Lon. 3. 29. WLat. 54. 53. N.

ABBEY-MILTON, or ABBEY-MIDDLETON, an ancienttown in Dorsetshire . Lon. 2. 4. W. Lat. 50. 51. N.

ABBOT, the superior, or governor of a monastery of monkserected into an abbey or prelacy.

The abbots of the primitive monasteries, from the poverty theyprofessed, and commonly practised, had no other claim to superio-rity or respect than what arose from the sanctity of their lives; butafterwards, affecting not only pre-eminence over each other, but.even to he independent of the bishop, there arose new species anddistinctions of abbots into mitred and not mitred, evoziered andnot crozicred, and oecumenical abbots.

Abbots , Mitred, were those who were privileged to wear a-mitre, and besides enjoyed the full episcopal jurisdiction of theirseveral precincts. Among us, these were called abbots-sovoreign,or abbots-general, and were lords of parliament: they were twenty-seven in number, besides two mitred priors. 'I he unmitred abbotscontinued subject to their diocesan bishop.

Abbots , Croziered, were those entitled to carry a crozier, orpastoral staff.

Abbot , (Ecumenical, the same with universal, was a title as-sumed among the Greeks, in imitation of the patriarch of Constan-tinople: nor have those of the Latin church been backward in thisrespect; some having called themselves abbas abbatum, or theabbot of abbots; and others assumed the title of cardinal-abbot.

Abbots , however, are chiefly distinguished at pie ent, into re-gular and commendatory ; the former being real monks or religious,and die latter only seculars or laymen, 'lhese last, notwithstand-ing that the term enmmendam seems to signify the contrary's havethe perpetual enjovment of the fruits of their abbeys. Ancientlythe ceremony of creating an abbot consisted in clothing him withthe habit called cuculla, or cowl; putting the pastoral staff into hishand, and the shoes called pcdales, on his fret; but at present, itis mil vasimple benediction, improperly called by some, consecration.

Abbot is also a title given to others beside the superiors of mona-steries: thus bishops, whose sees were tovmerlv abbeys, are calledabbots; as are the superiors of some congregations of regular ca-nons, particularly that of St. Genevieve at Paris , and among theGenoese the chief magistrate of their republic formerly bore thetitle of abbot of the people. It was likewise usual, about the timeof Charlemagne , for several lords to assume the title of count-ab-bots, abba-camilcs ; and that for no other reason, but because thesuperintendence of certain abbeys was committed to them.

ABBO T, GEORGE, archbishop of Canterbury , was born 2<)th

Oct.