abyss

abyss
\ \ [16] English borrowed abyss from late Latin abyssus, which in turn derived from Greek ábussos. This was an adjective meaning ‘bottomless’, from a- ‘not’ and bussósbottom’, a dialectal variant of buthós (which is related to bathysdeep’, the source of English bathyscape). In Greek the adjective was used in the phrase ábussos limnēbottomless lake’, but only the adjective was borrowed into Latin, bringing with it the meaning of the noun as well.
\ \ In medieval times, a variant form arose in Latin – abysmus. It incorporated the Greek suffix -ismós (English -ism). It is the source of French abîme, and was borrowed into English in the 13th century as abysm (whence the 19th-century derivative abysmal). It began to be ousted by abyss in the 16th century, however, and now has a distinctly archaic air.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Abyss — may mean:;Sciences and philosophy * Abyssal zone, a deep extent of the sea. * Abyssal plain, a flat area on the ocean floor. * Abyss (religion), is a bottomless depth. * Abyss (Thelema), a spiritual principle within the system of… …   Wikipedia

  • Abyss — steht für: Abyss – Abgrund des Todes, Spielfilm aus dem Jahr 1989 DJ Abyss (* 1972), deutscher DJ Seasons in the Abyss, Metal Album der Band Slayer Abyss (Tauchroboter), ein kleines fernlenkbares U Boot des Leibniz Institut für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Abyss — puede referirse a: Tales of the Abyss, videojuego. The Abyss, película. The monster abyss, luchador profesional, de nombre real Chris Parks. ABYSS, sistema. Véase también Abismo Esta …   Wikipedia Español

  • Abyss — • Primarily and classically an adjective, very deep Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Abyss     Abyss     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Abyss — Разработчик Cases Computer Simulations Издатель Cases Computer Simulations Дата выпуска 1984 Жанр Приключенческая игра Платформы ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Acorn Electr …   Википедия

  • Abyss — A*byss , n. [L. abyssus a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. ? bottomless; a priv. + ? depth, bottom.] 1. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit. [1913 Webster] Ye… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • abyss — abyss; abyss·al; …   English syllables

  • abyss — [ə bis′] n. [L abyssus < Gr abyssos < a , without + byssos, bottom] 1. a deep fissure in the earth; bottomless gulf; chasm 2. anything too deep for measurement; profound depth [abyss of shame, of time, etc.] 3. the ocean depths 4. Theol.… …   English World dictionary

  • ABYSS — по английски Бездна или Пропасть , но группе по духу и образному выражению ближе все же Бездна . Музыканты объединились нынешним составом в сентябре 1999 года. К этому немаловажному событию в жизни подтолкнула предстоящая KISS Convention . С… …   Русский рок. Малая энциклопедия

  • abyss — index pitfall Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • abyss — (n.) late 14c., earlier abime (c.1300, from a form in Old French), from L.L. abyssus bottomless pit, from Gk. abyssos (limne) bottomless (pool), from a without (see A (Cf. a ) (2)) + byssos bottom, possibly related to bathos depth …   Etymology dictionary

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