'In France their leader was the abbé Jules Lemire, who was elected to parliament from a Flemish constituency in 1893.'
'The French abbé de Saint Pierre went even further, noting that the power of states simply fluctuated too much for such an idea to be feasible.'
'The sly abbé from Périgord takes Candide to the theatre.'
'In his revolutionary pamphlet of 1788, the abbé Sieyès lamented the great respect granted this parasitic existence.'
'It is possible to detect the influence of Jansenism through the presence of two leading draftsmen of the Civil Constitution, abbés Grégoire and Camus.'
((n.) The French word answering to the English abbot, the head of
an abbey; but commonly a title of respect given in France to every one
vested with the ecclesiastical habit or dress.)
noun, plural abbés[a-beyz, ab-eyz; French a-bey]/æˈbeɪz, ˈæb eɪz; French aˈbeɪ/(Show IPA) (esp. in France)
1.
a member of the secular clergy.
2.
a title of respect for any ecclesiastic or clergyman.
Origin:
abbé
Mid 16th century: French, from ecclesiastical Latin abbas, abbat- (see abbot).