n. [ L. abyssus a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. &unr_; bottomless; 'a priv. + &unr_; 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 powers and spirits of this nethermost abyss. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ] The throne is darkness, in the abyss of light. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth. [ 1913 Webster ] The abysses of metaphysical theology. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ] In unfathomable abysses of disgrace. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. (Her.) The center of an escutcheon. [ 1913 Webster ] ☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ] | 
