a.b.

Baseball.

(times) at bat.

* * *

Ab «ab, ahb», noun.

the eleventh (or, in leap year, the twelfth) month of the Jewish civil year, and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year, beginning in July or in the first part of August.

╂[< Hebrew ābh]

ab-¹,

prefix. from; away; away from; off: »

Abnormal = away from normal.

Also: a- before m, p, v; abs- before c, t.

╂[< Latin ab- < ab off, away from]

ab-²,

prefix. the form of ad- (Cf. ↑ad-) before b, as in abbreviate.

ab-³,

a prefix in the names of theoretical electromagnetic units of measurement, such as abampere or abhenry, in the centimeter-gram-second system of measurement.

╂[< ab(solute)]

ab.,

about.

a.b.,

1. able-bodied (seaman).

2. Baseball. (times) at bat.

Ab (no period),

Chemistry. alabamine (the name originally used for astatine).

AB (no periods),

1. one of the four major blood factors or groups widely used to determine blood compatibility in transfusions. A person with AB type blood can receive blood of either the AB, A, B, or O group.

A.B.,

1. able-bodied (seaman).

2. Baseball. (times) at bat.

3. Also, B.A. Bachelor of Arts, a college degree usually given in the United States for four years' study (or the equivalent) beyond high school and generally with the emphasis on liberal arts (Latin, Artium Baccalaureus).

Usage Some American colleges and universities use the abbreviation A.B., others B.A. British universities use B.A.