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abyss

[ uh-bis ]
/ əˈbɪs /
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noun
a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.
anything that seems to be without end or is impossible to measure, define, or comprehend: the abyss of their grief and sorrow.
(in ancient cosmogony)
  1. the primal chaos before Creation.
  2. the infernal regions; hell.
  3. a subterranean ocean.
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Origin of abyss

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus, from Greek ábyssos “bottomless,” equivalent to a- a-6 + byssós “bottom of the sea”

Other definitions for abyss (2 of 2)

Abyss.

abbreviation
Abyssinia.
Abyssinian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use abyss in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abyss

abyss
/ (əˈbɪs) /

noun
a very deep or unfathomable gorge or chasm
anything that appears to be endless or immeasurably deep, such as time, despair, or shame
hell or the infernal regions conceived of as a bottomless pit

Word Origin for abyss

C16: via Late Latin from Greek abussos bottomless (as in the phrase abussos limnē bottomless lake), from a- 1 + bussos depth
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
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