abyss - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: abyss

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

a·byss

Audio Help [uh-bis] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.

2.	anything profound, unfathomable, or infinite: the abyss of time.

(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

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
abyss

To learn more about abyss visit Britannica.com

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Abyss.

1.	Abyssinia.

2.	Abyssinian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

a·byss Audio Help (ə-bĭs') Pronunciation Key
n.

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.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

abyss
noun
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
abyss [əˈbis] noun

a very deep or bottomless hole or chasm

Arabic:	هَاوِيَة
Chinese (Simplified):	深渊
Chinese (Traditional):	深淵
Czech:	propast
Danish:	afgrund
Dutch:	afgrond
Estonian:	kuristik
Finnish:	kuilu
French:	abîme
German:	der Abgrund
Greek:	άβυσσος
Hungarian:	végtelen mélység
Icelandic:	hyldÿpi; tómið
Indonesian:	sangat dalam
Italian:	abisso

Japanese:	深淵
Korean:	심연
Latvian:	bezdibenis
Lithuanian:	bedugnė, praraja
Norwegian:	avgrunn
Polish:	przepaść, otchłań
Portuguese (Brazil):	abismo
Portuguese (Portugal):	abismo
Romanian:	abis
Russian:	пропасть
Slovak:	priepasť, hlbina
Slovenian:	brezno
Spanish:	abismo
Swedish:	avgrund
Turkish:	uçurum