abyss

plural abysses · alternative archaic abysm · alternative archaic abyssus · alternative obsolete abime

1. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.First known use First attested around 1350 to 1470.

   'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!'

   1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 190

2. frequently figurativeA bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.First known use First attested in the late 16ᵗʰ century.

   Below is the deep abyss of the Lauterbrunnen valley, and at its head a stately semi-circle of mountains, with the pyramidal Lauterbrunnen Breithorn as the centre-piece.

   1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 752

3. Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.First known use First attested in the late 16ᵗʰ century.
4. Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.

   They fell into the abyss of drug addiction.

5. An impending catastrophic happening.
6. governmentThe center of an escutcheon; fess point.
7. geographyThe abyssal zone.
8. figurativelyA difference, especially a large difference, between groups.

   Synonyms: gulf