abyss

- 3 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.

(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

1.	Abyssinia.

2.	Abyssinian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

a·byss (ə-bĭs')

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.]

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