Abyss
WordNet
noun
(1) A bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From < < < + .
Noun
- A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit.
- Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth.
- The center of an escutcheon.
Usage notes
This word, in its leading uses, is associated with the cosmological notions of the Hebrews, having reference to an mass of waters from which our earth sprung, and beneath whose profound depths the wicked were punished.