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.