Lexic.us

Definition of Abyss

1. Noun. A bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively).

Definition of Abyss

1. n. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit.

Definition of Abyss

1. Noun. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable. ¹

2. Noun. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos. ¹

3. Noun. Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth. ¹

4. Noun. (context: heraldry) The center of an escutcheon. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Abyss

1. a bottomless chasm [n -ES] : ABYSSAL [adj]

Medical Definition of Abyss

1. 1. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit. "Ye powers and spirits of this nethermost abyss." (Milton) "The throne is darkness, in the abyss of light." (Dryden) 2. Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth. "The abysses of metaphysical theology." (Macaulay) "In unfathomable abysses of disgrace." (Burke) 3. The center of an escutcheon. This word, in its leading uses, is associated with the cosmological notions of the Hebrews, having reference to a supposed illimitable mass of waters from which our earth sprung, and beneath whose profound depths the wicked were punished. Origin: L. Abyssus a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. Bottomless; priv. + depth, bottom. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Abyss

Literary usage of Abyss

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Geographical Journal by Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain). (1895)
"We then went down to the end of the valley to 'peep over the abyss. The Beduins had been damming up the channels for irrigation, and we had to cross much ..."

2. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes by Robert Fiske Griggs, National Geographic Society (U.S.) (1922)
"The struggle between the' increasing mists and the heat rising from the abyss created one of the weirdest spectacles imaginable. Long after the gathering ..."

3. The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the by Robert Chambers (1832)
"The quay sank down into an abyss which opened underneath it, ... There must have been some actual closing up of the abyss at this spot ; for the poor ..."

4. The Apocalypse: A Series of Special Lectures on the Revelation of Jesus by Joseph Augustus Seiss (1865)
"... and to him was given the key of the well-pit of the abyss; and he opened the well-pit of the abyss ; and there came out of the well-pit smoke, ..."

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