''Abthain'' (or ''abthane'') is an English or Lowland Scots form of the middle- Latin word ' ( Gaelic '), meaning abbacy. The exact sense of the word being lost, it was presumed to denote some ancient dignity, the holder of which was called or . William Forbes Skene''Historians of Scotland'', IV; ''Fordun'', II, 413. holds that the correct meaning of ' (or ') is not "abbot" or "over-thane", but "abbey" or "monastery". The word has special reference to the territories of the churches and monasteries founded by the old Celtic or

Columban Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

monks, mostly between the mountain chain of the Mounth and the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

. Skene recommended the use of the words ' or '. Many of these passed into the hands of laymen, and were transmitted from father to son. They paid certain ecclesiastical tributes, and seem to have closely resembled the '' termonn'' lands of the early Irish Church.

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{{Catholic, wstitle=abthain Abbots Catholic ecclesiastical titles Christian religious occupations Ecclesiastical titles English words Monasticism Organisation of Catholic religious orders Religious leadership roles Religious terminology

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