chasm

English

Etymology

From Latin chasma, from Ancient Greek χάσμα (khásma, “abyss, cleft”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæzəm/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (General American, uncommon, spelling pronunciation) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃæzəm/
• Rhymes: -æzəm

Noun

chasm (plural chasms)

1. (geology, planetology) A deep, steep-sided rift, gap or fissure; a gorge or abyss.
   • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 1:

     But always and ever there is a yawning chasm below[.]

2. (by extension) A large difference of opinion.
   • 2024 February 10, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Chelsea may not have regarded themselves as title rivals to City over the whole season but this was a harrowing illustration of the current chasm between the two sides and made for disturbing viewing for the Italian.

Alternative forms

• chasma (obsolete)

Derived terms

• chasmal
• chasmatical (rare)
• chasmed
• chasmic
• chasmlike
• chasmophyte
• chasmous
• chasmy

 

Related terms

• chasma (“long, narrow, steep-sided depression on a body in the solar system”)

Translations

gap

• Arabic: فَجْوَة f (fajwa)
• Bulgarian: пропаст (bg) f (propast), бездна (bg) f (bezdna)
• Catalan: avenc (ca) m
• Czech: propast (cs) f
• Dutch: kloof (nl) f, afgrond (nl) m
• Finnish: kuilu (fi), rotko (fi)
• French: chasme (fr) f, crevasse (fr) f, fossé (fr) m, gouffre (fr) m
• German: Abgrund (de) m, Kluft (de) f, Spalte (de) f
• Greek: χάσμα (el) n (chásma)

  Ancient: χάσμα n (khásma)

• Icelandic: gjá (is) f
• Indonesian: jurang (id)
• Irish: gáibéal m, anscoilt f, duibheagán m
• Italian: voragine (it) f, baratro (it) m, abisso (it) m
• Japanese: 渓壑 (けいがく, keigaku)
• Javanese: jurang (jv), curah
• Latin: chasma n, barāthrum n
• Maori: tawhā
• Old English: clēafa m
• Ottoman Turkish: دریڭلك (deriñlik)
• Plautdietsch: Kjäajel m
• Polish: przepaść (pl) f, otchłań (pl) f, wyrwa (pl) f
• Portuguese: abismo (pt) m
• Russian: бе́здна (ru) f (bézdna), про́пасть (ru) f (própastʹ), рассе́лина (ru) f (rassélina), расще́лина (ru) f (rasščélina)
• Sanskrit: पर्शान (sa) m (parśāna)
• Serbo-Croatian: provalija (sh) f
• Slovak: roklina f, rokľa (sk) f, prepadlisko n, priepasť f
• Spanish: garganta (es) f, cañón (es) m, barranco (es) m, barranca f, sima (es) f, abismo (es) m
• Swedish: svalg (sv) n
• Telugu: అగాధం (te) (agādhaṁ)
• Turkish: derin yarık (tr), kanyon (tr), uçurum (tr)
• Ukrainian: прі́рва f (prírva), безо́дня (uk) f (bezódnja)

difference of opinion

• Arabic: فَجْوَة f (fajwa)
• Czech: rozkol m, nesoulad m
• Dutch: kloof (nl) f, meningsverschil (nl) n
• Finnish: kuilu (fi)
• French: fossé (fr) m, divergence (fr) f
• German: Kluft (de) f
• Greek: χάσμα (el) n (chásma), ρήγμα (el) n (rígma), σχίσμα (el) n (schísma), διάσπαση (el) f (diáspasi)
• Irish: deighilt f, scaradh m, briseadh (idir beirt) m
• Italian: divergenza (it) f, divario (it) m
• Portuguese: abismo (pt) m, cisma (pt) m
• Russian: разногла́сия (ru) n pl (raznoglásija), раско́л (ru) m (raskól)
• Spanish: disensión (es) f
• Swedish: klyfta (sv), schism (sv)
• Telugu: అగాధం (te) (agādhaṁ)
• Turkish: uçurum (tr)

References

• chasm (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• rift on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• CAMHS, HMACs, cha'ms, chams