English

Noun

abyssus

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of abyss^[1]

References

1. ↑ Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 11

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ἄβῠσσος ‎(ábussos, “bottomless pit”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aˈbys.sus/, [aˈbʏs.sʊs]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /aˈbis.sus/

Noun

abyssus f ‎(genitive abyssī); second declension

1. (Late Latin) an abyss
   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.1.2

     terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas

     And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.

Inflection

Second declension.

Descendants

• English: abyss
• French: abîme, abysse
• Italian: abisso
• Portuguese: abismo
• Spanish: abismo

References

• abyssus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ABYSSUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)