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 cosmogonies
2 a : an immeasurably deep gulf or great space b : intellectual or moral depths