abyssal

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
12
Words With Friends
13
Letters
7
Pronunciation
/əˈbɪs.l̩/
See all 2 pronunciations
/əˈbɪs.l̩/ · /əˈbɪs.l̩/(US)

Definition of abyssal

4 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. (archaic, not-comparable)Belonging to, or resembling, an abyss; unfathomable.
See all 4 definitions

adj

  1. (archaic, not-comparable)Belonging to, or resembling, an abyss; unfathomable.
  2. (not-comparable)Of or belonging to the ocean depths, especially below 2000 metres (6500 ft): abyssal zone.
    “This "abyssal" life, typically in the form of strange tube-worms and microbes, is almost completely unknown to science.”
    “"Ea", the beneficent god of earth and life, who dwelt in the abyssal waters, was shown with two streams running from his hands or shoulders[.]”
  3. (not-comparable)Pertaining to or occurring at excessive depths in the earth's crust; plutonic.
  4. (figuratively, not-comparable)In the utter depths of despair; gloomy.
    “In an attempt to avoid sliding into incorrigible despair, I abandon such abyssal and existential pondering and investigate the artist behind the work.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

First attested in the 1690s. From Medieval Latin abyssalis, from Latin abyssus (“abyss”) + -alis (“-al”). Equivalent to abyss + -al.

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