ἄβυσσος

See also: άβυσσος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

ἀ- (a-) +‎ βυθός (buthós, “depth of the sea”) Compare Sanskrit अगाध (agādha, “fathomless; abyss, chasm”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /á.bys.sos/ → /ˈa.βys.sos/ → /ˈa.vi.sos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /á.bys.sos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bys.sos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.βys.sos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vys.sos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.vi.sos/

Adjective

ἄβῠσσος • (ábŭssos) m or f (neuter ἄβυσσον); second declension

1. bottomless, boundless
2. unfathomable

Inflection

Second declension of ἄβυσσος; ἄβυσσον (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		ἄβυσσος ábussos	ἄβυσσον ábusson		ἀβύσσω abússō	ἀβύσσω abússō		ἄβυσσοι ábussoi	ἄβυσσᾰ ábussă
Genitive		ἀβύσσου abússou	ἀβύσσου abússou		ἀβύσσοιν abússoin	ἀβύσσοιν abússoin		ἀβύσσων abússōn	ἀβύσσων abússōn
Dative		ἀβύσσῳ abússōi	ἀβύσσῳ abússōi		ἀβύσσοιν abússoin	ἀβύσσοιν abússoin		ἀβύσσοις abússois	ἀβύσσοις abússois
Accusative		ἄβυσσον ábusson	ἄβυσσον ábusson		ἀβύσσω abússō	ἀβύσσω abússō		ἀβύσσους abússous	ἄβυσσᾰ ábussă
Vocative		ἄβυσσε ábusse	ἄβυσσον ábusson		ἀβύσσω abússō	ἀβύσσω abússō		ἄβυσσοι ábussoi	ἄβυσσᾰ ábussă
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		ἀβύσσως abússōs			ἀβυσσότερος abussóteros			ἀβυσσότᾰτος abussótătos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Noun

ἄβῠσσος • (ábŭssos) f (genitive ἀβύσσου); second declension

1. bottomless pit, abyss
2. the subterranean world of the dead: abyss

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ἄβυσσος; τῆς ἀβύσσου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἄβυσσος hē ábussos	τὼ ἀβύσσω tṑ abússō	αἱ ἄβυσσοι hai ábussoi
Genitive	τῆς ἀβύσσου tês abússou	τοῖν ἀβύσσοιν toîn abússoin	τῶν ἀβύσσων tôn abússōn
Dative	τῇ ἀβύσσῳ têi abússōi	τοῖν ἀβύσσοιν toîn abússoin	ταῖς ἀβύσσοις taîs abússois
Accusative	τὴν ἄβυσσον tḕn ábusson	τὼ ἀβύσσω tṑ abússō	τᾱ̀ς ἀβύσσους tā̀s abússous
Vocative	ἄβυσσε ábusse	ἀβύσσω abússō	ἄβυσσοι ábussoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: άβυσσος (ávyssos)
• → Latin: abyssus (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “ἄβυσσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄβυσσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἄβυσσος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• ἄβυσσος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• G12 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • abysmal idem, page 5.
  • bottomless idem, page 90.
  • boundless idem, page 91.
  • cavernous idem, page 119.
  • unfathomable idem, page 918.
  • vast idem, page 945.
  • yawning idem, page 995.