ABERNETHY, a small town in Strathern, a district of Perthshire in Scotland, situated on the river Tay, a little above the mouth of the Erne. It is said to have been the seat of the Pictish kings; and was afterwards the see of an archbishop, which was afterwards transferred to St. Andrew's. In the churchyard of Abernethy, there is a tower of singular construction. It is of a circular form, is 74 feet in height, and 48 feet in circumference. The tower at Brechin is the only one of a similar structure in Scotland. The researches of the antiquarian have hitherto failed in discovering the uses of these insulated buildings. Conjecture, therefore, has supplied the place of certainty, by supposing that they are of Pictish origin, and that they were intended as places of confinement for religious devotees in performing penance, and hence they have been denominated towers of repentance.