aby
verb
ə-ˈbī 
variants or abye
abyed; abying or abyeing; abys or abyes
transitive verb
archaic
: to suffer a penalty for
Word History
Etymology
Middle English abien, abiggen, abuggen "to pay for, obtain at the cost of labor or suffering, redeem, pay a penalty for," from a-, weak perfective prefix (going back to Old English a-) + bien, biggen "to purchase, pay for" — more at abide, buy entry 1
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above