different between descent vs abyss

English

Etymology

From Middle English and Anglo-Norman descente, from Anglo-Norman descendre (“to descend”); see descend. Compare ascent, ascend. Doublet of desant.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??s?nt/
• Homophones: dissent (for some dialects)

Noun

descent (countable and uncountable, plural descents)

1. An instance of descending; act of coming down.
   • 2012, July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track

     The next one surrendered his bike, only for that, too, to give him a second flat as he started the descent.

2. A way down.

   We had difficulty in finding the correct descent.

3. A sloping passage or incline.

   The descent into the cavern was wet and slippery.

4. Lineage or hereditary derivation.

   Our guide was of Welsh descent.

5. A drop to a lower status or condition; decline. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

   After that, the holiday went into a steep descent.

6. A falling upon or invasion.
7. (topology) A particular extension of the idea of gluing. See Descent (mathematics).

Usage notes

• Sometimes confused with decent.

Antonyms

• (going down): ascent

Derived terms

• hypodescent, hyperdescent

Related terms

• descend

Translations

Further reading

• descent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• descent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• cedents, scented

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