aby

verb

ə-ˈbī

variants or abye

abyed; abying or abyeing; abys or abyes

transitive verb

archaic

: to suffer a penalty for

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abien, abiggen, abuggen "to pay for, obtain at the cost of labor or suffering, redeem, pay a penalty for," from a-, weak perfective prefix (going back to Old English a-) + bien, biggen "to purchase, pay for" — more at abide, buy entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of aby was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century