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abyss - 5 dictionary results
a⋅byss
[uh-bis]
–noun
| 1. | a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm. |
| 2. | anything profound, unfathomable, or infinite: the abyss of time. |
| 3. | (in ancient cosmogony)
|
Origin:
1350–1400; earlier abisse, ME abissus < LL abyssus < Gk ábyssos bottomless, equiv. to a- a- 6 + byssós bottom of the sea
1350–1400; earlier abisse, ME abissus < LL abyssus < Gk ábyssos bottomless, equiv. to a- a- 6 + byssós bottom of the sea

Abyss.
| 1. | Abyssinia. |
| 2. | Abyssinian. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To abyss
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Abyss
A*byss"\, n. [L. abyssus a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. ? bottomless; 'a priv. + ? depth, bottom.]1. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit. Ye powers and spirits of this nethermost abyss. --Milton. The throne is darkness, in the abyss of light. --Dryden. 2. Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth. The abysses of metaphysical theology. --Macaulay. In unfathomable abysses of disgrace. --Burke. 3. (Her.) The center of an escutcheon. Note: This word, in its leading uses, is associated with the cosmological notions of the Hebrews, having reference to a supposed illimitable mass of waters from which our earth sprung, and beneath whose profound depths the wicked were punished. --Encyc. Brit.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : abyss
Spanish:
abismo,
German:
der Abgrund,
Japanese:
深淵
abyss
1398, earlier abime (c.1300), from L.L. abyssus, from Gk. abyssos "bottomless," from a- "without" (see a- (2)) + byssos "bottom," possibly related to bathos "depth." Abyssal is first recorded 1691, used especially of the zone of ocean water below 300 fathoms.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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