aby

{ } v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Abought ] [ AS. ābycgan to pay for; pref. ā- (cf. Goth. us-, Ger. er-, orig. meaning out) + bycgan to buy. See Buy, and cf. Abide. ] 1. To pay for; to suffer for; to atone for; to make amends for; to give satisfaction. [ Obs. ]
Syn. -- expiate [ 1913 Webster ]

Lest to thy peril thou aby it dear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To endure; to abide. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

But nought that wanteth rest can long aby. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

or n. [ F. abîme. See Abysm. ] A abyss. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abisme; F. abime, LL. abyssimus, a superl. of L. abyssus; Gr. &unr_;. See Abyss. ] An abyss; a gulf. “The abysm of hell.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or resembling, an abyss; bottomless; unending; profound. [ 1913 Webster ]

Geology gives one the same abysmal extent of time that astronomy does of space. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. To a fathomless depth; profoundly. “Abysmally ignorant.” G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abyssus a bottomless gulf, fr. Gr. &unr_; bottomless; 'a priv. + &unr_; depth, bottom. ] 1. A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable, and, specifically, hell, or the bottomless pit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye powers and spirits of this nethermost abyss. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The throne is darkness, in the abyss of light. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Infinite time; a vast intellectual or moral depth. [ 1913 Webster ]

The abysses of metaphysical theology. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

In unfathomable abysses of disgrace. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Her.) The center of an escutcheon. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. Abysmal. ] Belonging to, or resembling, an abyss; unfathomable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abyssal zone (Phys. Geog.), one of the belts or zones into which Sir E. Forbes divides the bottom of the sea in describing its plants, animals, etc. It is the one furthest from the shore, embracing all beyond one hundred fathoms deep. Hence, abyssal animals, plants, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. same as Ethiopia.
Syn. -- Ethiopia, Yaltopya [ WordNet 1.5 ]