abyss
/əˈbɪs/ · noun
Meaning
- Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
- A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.
- Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.
- Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
- An impending catastrophic happening.
- The center of an escutcheon; fess point.
- The abyssal zone.
- A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.
Etymology / origin
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”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English neowolnes.
- neowolnes(Old English)→
- ἄβυσσος(Ancient Greek)→
- abyssus(la-lat)→
- abissus(enm)→
- *dʰewbʰ-(ine-pro)→
- abyss (English)
- Relations: root, inh, der, der, cog
Related words
Descendant words
- abismo(Esperanto) (bor)
- άβυσσος(Greek) (sl)
- abis(Indonesian) (bor)
Sources
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