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Webster 1913 Edition

Abyss

A-byss′

,
Noun.
[L.
abyssus
a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. [GREEK] bottomless;
ἀ
priv. + [GREEK] 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.
☞ 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 1828 Edition

Abyss

ABYSS'

,
Noun.
[Gr. bottomless, from a priv. and bottom, Ion. See Bottom.]
1.
A bottomless gulf; used also for a deep mass of waters, supposed by some to have encompassed the earth before the flood.
Darkness was upon the face of the deep, or abyss, as it is in the Septuagint. Gen. i. 2.
The word is also used for an immense cavern in the earth, in which God is supposed to have collected all the waters on the third day of the creation. It is used also for hell, Erebus.
2.
That which is immeasurable; that in which any thing is lost.
Thy throne is darkness, in the abyss of light.
The abyss of time.
3.
In antiquity, the temple of Proserpine, so called from the immense treasures it was supposed to contain.
4.
In heraldry, the center of an escutcheon.
He bears azure, a fleur de lis, in abyss.

Definition 2024

abyss

abyss

See also: Abyss.

English

Alternative forms

Noun

abyss ‎(plural abysses)

  1. ****; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][1]
  2. (frequently figuratively) A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space. [First attested in the late 16th century.][1]
  3. Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound. [First attested in the late 16th century.][1]
  4. Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
  5. An impending catastrophic happening.
  6. (heraldry) The center of an escutcheon.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:abyss.

Usage notes

  • (impending catastrophic happening): It is typically preceded by the word the.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 11
  2. ↑ William Morris (editor), The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1971 [1969]; American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc.; ISBN 0-395-09066-0), page 6
  3. ↑ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5), page 9

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus ‎(“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος ‎(ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- ‎(a-, “not”)+ βυσσός ‎(bussós, “deep place”),[1],[2] from βυθός ‎(buthós, “deep place”).[3]

Pronunciation

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