abyss .とは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

From 中期英語 abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native 古期英語 neowolnes.

発音

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /əˈbɪs/
• (米国発音) IPA: /əˈbɪs/, /æˈbɪs/, enPR: ə-bĭs'
• 韻: -ɪs
• ハイフネーション: a‧byss

名詞

abyss (plural abysses)

1. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
   • 1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King‎, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 190:

     '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!'

2. (frequently figurative) A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space. [First attested in the late 16 century.]
   • 1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 752:

     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.

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

   They fell into the abyss of drug addiction.

5. (with article) An impending catastrophic happening.
6. (heraldry) The center of an escutcheon; fess point.
7. (oceanography) The abyssal zone.
8. (figurative) A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.

   Synonym: gulf

派生語

関連する語

• abysmal

参照

アナグラム

• bassy