What does "abyss" mean?

Abyss: Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth. The abysses of metaphysical theology. Macaulay. In unfathomable abysses of disgrace. Burke.

Additional senses

  1. 2.(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.

Sources