Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “abissus” come from?

abissus (Middle English) comes from Latin abyssus, from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος, from Ancient Greek ἀ-, from Proto-Hellenic hə-, from Proto-Indo-European sm̥-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

Ancestry of “abissus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinabyssusan abyss
2Ancient Greekἄβυσσοςbottomless, boundless; unfathomable; bottomless...
3Ancient Greekἀ-The alpha privativum, used to make words that...
4Proto-Hellenichə-same; together
5Proto-Indo-Europeansm̥-one; with, together
6Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “abissus”

  • abyss
  • abyssopelagic
  • abysslike
  • abyssolith
  • abyssolithic
  • abyssobenthic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →