Definition of CHASMA

chasma

Meanings

Plural: chasmas, chasmata

Noun

  • A long, narrow, steep-sided depression on a planet (often other than Earth), a moon, or another body in the Solar System.
  • An aurora.
  • Obsolete form of chasm.

Origin / Etymology

From Latin chasma, from Ancient Greek χάσμα (khásma, “abyss, cleft”), from Ancient Greek χᾰ́σκω (khắskō, “to gape, yawn”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰan-, *gʰan- (“to gape, yawn”) + -σκω (-skō, inchoative suffix forming a present-tense word), from Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti (suffix forming a durative or iterative imperfective verb); or from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁y- (“to gape, yawn”)) + Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă, suffix forming a noun denoting the result of an action) (from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ (suffix forming an action or result noun)).
The obsolete “aurora” sense is from the fact that aurorae were thought to be rifts in the sky from which light shone through: see the 1822 quotation.

Scrabble Score: 0

chasma is not valid in Scrabble (US) TWL Dictionary
chasma is not valid in Scrabble (MW) Merriam-Webster Dictionary
chasma is not valid in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 0

chasma is not valid in Words With Friends