English Explanatory Dictionary

abyss

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
  2. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.
  3. Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.
  4. Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
  5. An impending catastrophic happening.
  6. The center of an escutcheon; fess point.
  7. The abyssal zone.
  8. A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.

Pronunciation

/əˈbɪs/ /æˈbɪs/ ə-bĭs' en-us-abyss.ogg

Word forms

abyss abysses abysm abyssus abime

Etymology

From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English neowolnes.

Synonyms

gulf

Related words

abysmal

Derived words

abysmic abyssal abyssic abysslike abyssobenthic abyssolith abyssolithic abyssopelagic oceanic abyss
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