abysm

[ uh-biz-uh m ]

/ əˈbɪz əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR abysm ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an abyss.

RELATED WORDS

abyss, depth, gorge, gulf, chasm

Nearby words

abwatt, abwehr, aby, abydos, abyla, abysm, abysmal, abyss, abyss., abyssal, abyssinia

Origin of abysm

1250–1300; Middle English abi(s)me < Middle French abisme < Vulgar Latin *abyssimus, a neologistic pseudo-superlative of Late Latin abyssus abyss

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for abysm

Bergson fears that the temporal series will be swallowed up in the "dark backward and abysm of time," or rather of eternity.
The Christian Faith Under Modern Searchlights|William Hallock Johnson
The novelists indeed can show that the beginning of their history is lost in the abysm of time.
The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare|J. J. Jusserand
Phil and I had been classmates in the dark backward and abysm, and we were still, in a manner of speaking, friends.
The Book of Susan|Lee Wilson Dodd
I shall never count an iota against you "in the dark backward and abysm of Time."
Diana of the Crossways, Complete|George Meredith

This makes their date one of incalculable antiquity; they are removed from us by a ‘dark backward and abysm of time.’
Custom and Myth|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for abysm

abysm

/ (əˈbɪzəm) /

noun

an archaic word for abyss

Word Origin for abysm

C13: via Old French from Medieval Latin abysmus abyss

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012