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abyss - 5 dictionary results

a⋅byss

  [uh-bis]
Use abyss in a Sentence
–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)
a. the primal chaos before Creation.
b. the infernal regions; hell.
c. a subterranean ocean.
Origin:
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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a·byss   (ə-bĭs')   
n.  
  1. An immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void: "lost in the vast abysses of space and time" (Loren Eiseley).
    1. The primeval chaos out of which it was believed that the earth and sky were formed.
    2. The abode of evil spirits; hell.

[Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus, from Greek abussos, bottomless : a-, without; see a-1 + bussos, bottom.]
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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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
More Translations »

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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