The Collaborative International Dictionary
Abbot of the people
Abbot \Ab"bot\, n. [AS. abbod, abbad, L. abbas, abbatis, Gr. 'abba^s, fr. Syriac abb[=a] father. Cf. Abba, Abb['E].]
The superior or head of an abbey.
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One of a class of bishops whose sees were formerly abbeys.
--Encyc. Brit.Abbot of the people. a title formerly given to one of the chief magistrates in Genoa.
Abbot of Misrule (or Lord of Misrule), in medi[ae]val times, the master of revels, as at Christmas; in Scotland called the Abbot of Unreason.
--Encyc. Brit.
Wiktionary
abbot of the people
n. a high magistrate's title under the doge of independent Genoa