English
abysm
Abysm comes from Late Latin abyssus ‘bottomless pit’, and goes back to Ancient Greek βυθός ‘depth of the sea’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβυθός‘depth of the sea’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄβυσσοςábussos‘bottomless, boundless’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEabyssus‘bottomless pit’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CE*abyssimusreconstructedsuperlative of abyssus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400abisme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abime
- Englishearliest quotation 1623abysm
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβυθός‘depth of the sea’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄβυσσοςábussos‘bottomless, boundless’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEabyssus‘bottomless pit’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CE*abyssimusreconstructedsuperlative of abyssus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400abisme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abime
- Englishearliest quotation 1623abysm
Earliest quotation: 1623, Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra: “The abysm of hell.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- ‘hazy, deep’
through Ancient Greek βυθός ‘depth of the sea’
through Late Latin abyssus ‘bottomless pit’
Today it means
noun Hell; the infernal pit; the great deep; the primal chaos.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek βυθός / abysm