Dictionary

abaddon en · NOUN

Etymology

UK C19. From Abaddon, from Middle English, from Late Latin, from Ancient Greek Ἀβαδδών (Abaddṓn, “Abaddon”), from Hebrew אבדון (ābaddōn, “destruction, abyss”), from אבד (ābad, “to be lost, to perish”).

Meanings

1. (British, archaic, slang) An informer; a criminal who informs on other criminals to the authorities.
   • The prisoner, Money Moses, better known among thieves and fences as Moses the abaddon, has been, to my knowledge, for the last twenty years a receiver and dealer in stolen property. c. 1839, Report of the Trial of the Great Gold Dust Robbery:

Forms

Synonyms

grass · stool pigeon · informant · nark