different between abyss vs canyon

English

Alternative forms

• abysm, abime

Etymology

From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ??????? (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ?- (a-, “not”) + ?????? (bussós, “deep place”), from ????? (buthós, “deep place”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??b?s/, /æ?b?s/, enPR: ?-b?s'
• Rhymes: -?s
• Hyphenation: a?byss

Noun

abyss (plural abysses)

1. Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
2. (frequently figuratively) A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]
3. Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]
4. Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.

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

Usage notes

• (impending catastrophic happening): It is typically preceded by the word the.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:abyss.

Synonyms

• (difference): gulf

Derived terms

Related terms

• abysmal

Translations

References

Anagrams

• bassy

English

Alternative forms

• cañon

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish cañón. Doublet of cannon.

Pronunciation

• enPR: k?n?-y?n, IPA^(key): /?kænj?n/
• Rhymes: -ænj?n
• Hyphenation: can?yon

Noun

canyon (plural canyons)

1. A valley, especially a long, narrow, steep valley, cut in rock by a river.
   • Snow filled her mouth. She caromed off things she never saw, tumbling through a cluttered canyon like a steel marble falling through pins in a pachinko machine.

Synonyms

• gorge, dale, dalles, gulch, ravine, vale, valley
• See also Thesaurus:valley

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• ancony

French

Alternative forms

• cañon

Etymology

From Spanish cañón.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.??n/

Noun

canyon m (plural canyons)

1. canyon