Sylvia Earle Saturday: Marine Sciences Vocabulary Builder

Sylvia Earle: (born August 30, 1935 in Gibbstown, New Jersey) is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. She is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, sometimes called "Her Deepness" or "The Sturgeon General."

Abyss - pronounced uh-biss - is "the very deepest part of the ocean."
Other words that use Abyss are:
Abyssal plain, a flat area on the ocean floor
Abyssal zone, a deep extent of the sea

Word origin - how did the term develop?
late 14c., earlier abime (c.1300), from L.L. abyssus "bottomless pit," from Gk. abyssos (limne) "bottomless (pool).