abyss

See also: Abyss.

English

Alternative forms

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”),[1][2] from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”).[3]

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈbɪs/
  • (US) IPA(key): /əˈbɪs/, /æˈbɪs/, enPR: ə-bĭs'
  • Rhymes: -ɪs
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

abyss (plural abysses)

  1. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][1]
  2. (frequently figuratively) A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space. [First attested in the late 16th century.][1]
  3. Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound. [First attested in the late 16th century.][1]
  4. Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
  5. An impending catastrophic happening.
  6. (heraldry) The center of an escutcheon.

Usage notes
  • (impending catastrophic happening): It is typically preceded by the word the.

Quotations
  • For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:abyss.

Derived terms

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

References
  1. “abyss” in Lesley Brown, editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 11.
  2. “abyss” in William Morris, editor, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New York, N.Y.: American Heritage Publishing Co., 1971 [1969], OCLC 299754516, page 6.
  3. Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 9

Anagrams
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