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more about abyss
abyss |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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. 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. (Her.) The center of an escutcheon. Note: 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. --Encyc. Brit. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: abyss n : a bottomless gulf or pit [syn: {abysm}]
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