Webster's 1913 Dictionary\Ab"ba\ ([a^]b"b[.a]), n. [Syriac abb[=a] father. See
{Abbot}.]
Father; religious superior; -- in the Syriac, Coptic, and
Ethiopic churches, a title given to the bishops, and by the
bishops to the patriarch.
Easton Bible DictionaryThis Syriac or Chaldee word is found three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6), and in each case is followed by its Greek equivalent, which is translated "father." It is a term expressing warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect equivalent in our language. It has passed into European languages as an ecclesiastical term, "abbot."