\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.