Chasm

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkæzəm/

Definitions

1. A profound gap or depression in the earth's crust might delineate geographical areas
2. A significant disparity in thoughts or beliefs can indicate a deep divide in perspective
3. A deep and narrow opening in the ground or rock face ; a marked split or separation in ideas or social groups

Etymology: The Ancient Greek word "khásma" meant "abyss" or "cleft," and it came from the verb "cháskein," meaning "to gape" or "yawn." English took it through Latin, which had borrowed it as "chasma," so the word has been in English for centuries as a learned term for a deep opening in the earth or rock. What makes the story unusual is that English did not start with this word for gaps. Old English speakers already had "swelh" and "elh," native words that have since vanished, and "chasm" displaced them. The Greek word also has a sibling in English: "schism," a split or division, comes from the same Greek root, so the two words are related through a shared ancestor, with one arriving as a doublet of the other.

Synonyms: abyss, gorge, void, gulf, fissure

Antonyms: closure, solid, bridge, connection, unity