Main Entry:

abyss

Pronunciation:

\ə-ˈbis, a- also ˈa-(ˌ)bis\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus, from Greek abyssos, from abyssos, adjective, bottomless, from a- + byssos depth; perhaps akin to Greek bathys deep

Date:

14th century

1: the bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies2 a: an immeasurably deep gulf or great space b: intellectual or moral depths