deep - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English dep, deep, depe, from Old English dēop (“deep, profound; awful, mysterious; heinous; serious, solemn, earnest; extreme, great”), from Proto-West Germanic *deup, from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (“deep”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-nós, from *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”).

Cognates

Cognate with Scots depe (“deep”), North Frisian diip, jip (“deep”), Saterland Frisian djoop (“deep”), West Frisian djip (“deep”), Alemannic German tüüf (“deep”), Central Franconian deef, deep (“deep”), Dutch diep (“deep”), German tief (“deep”), Luxembourgish déif (“deep”), Mòcheno tiaf (“deep”), Vilamovian tif, tīf, tiif (“deep”), Yiddish טיף (tif, “deep”), Danish dyb (“deep”), Faroese and Icelandic djúpur (“deep”), Norwegian Bokmål djup, dyp (“deep”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish djup (“deep”), Scanian djyber (“deep”), Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍀𐍃 (diups, “deep”), Lithuanian dubùs (“deep, hollow”), Albanian det (“sea”), Welsh dwfn (“deep”).

deep (comparative deeper or more deep, superlative deepest or most deep)

  1. (of distance or position; also figurative) Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
    1. Extending far down from the top, or surface, to the bottom, literally or figuratively.
      The lake is extremely deep.
      We hiked into a deep valley between tall mountains.
      There was a deep layer of dust on the floor; the room had not been disturbed for many years.
      In the mid-1970s, the economy went into a deep recession.
      We are in deep trouble.
      • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 130, column 2:
        Smooth runnes the Water, where the Brooke is deepe,
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
      • 2015 July 11, “Antimicrobial Photoinactivation Using Visible Light Plus Water-Filtered Infrared-A (VIS + wIRA) Alters In Situ Oral Biofilms”, in PLOS ONE‎[1], →DOI:
        The differences in biofilm penetration patterns of both tested photosensitisers and the light source could have played an important role for the survival of microorganisms after the application of aPDT. In a recent own study, we showed that the deepest layers of the oral biofilm were not affected by the aPDT [4 ].
    2. Positioned far from the surface or other reference point, especially down through something or into something.
      Diving down to deep wrecks can be dangerous.
      I can't get the bullet out – it's too deep.
    3. Far in extent in another (non-downwards, but generally also non-upwards) direction, especially front-to-back.
      The shelves are 30 centimetres deep. — They are deep shelves.
      That cyclist's deep chest allows him to draw more air.
    4. (in combination) Extending to a level or length equivalent to the stated thing.
      The water was waist-deep.
      There is an arm-deep hole in the wall.
    5. In a (specified) number of rows or layers.
      a crowd four deep along the funeral procession, with people two deep on the sidewalks
      The fleet of ships was fifty sail deep.
      (ynecdoche)
    6. Voluminous.
      to take a deep breath / sigh / drink
      • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. […] She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
    7. (cricket, baseball, softball) Far from the center of the playing area, near to the boundary of the playing area, either in absolute terms or relative to a point of reference.
      He is fielding at deep mid wicket.
      She hit a ball into deep center field.
    8. (sports such as soccer, tennis) Penetrating a long way, especially a long way forward.
      a deep volley
      a deep run into the opposition half
    9. (sports such as soccer, American football, tennis) Positioned back, or downfield, towards one's own goal, or towards or behind one's baseline or similar reference point.
      Our defensive live is too deep. We need to move further up the field.
      She returns serve from a very deep position.
    10. (anatomy, often with to) Further into the body.
      Antonym: superficial
      the brachialis is deep to the biceps
      • 2018 November 8, Dr. Melina Jampolis, “The real science behind fascia ailments”, in CNN‎[2]:
        The superficial fascia surrounds the body and includes subcutaneous fat; the deep fascia surrounds the musculoskeletal system; the meningeal fascia surrounds the nervous system; the visceral fascia surrounds body cavities and organs.
  2. (intellectual, social) Complex, involved.
    1. Profound, having great meaning or import, but possibly obscure or not obvious.
      That is a deep thought!
    2. Significant, not superficial, in extent.
      Your analysis does not cut deep enough yet.
      They're in deep discussion.
    3. Hard to penetrate or comprehend; profound; intricate; obscure.
      a deep subject or plot
      • c. 1840, Thomas De Quincey:
        Why it was that the ancients had no landscape painting, is a question deep almost as the mystery of life, and harder of solution than all the problems of jurisprudence combined.
    4. Of penetrating or far-reaching intellect; not superficial; thoroughly skilled; sagacious; cunning.
    5. Inner, underlying, true; relating to one’s inner or private being rather than what is visible on the surface.
      • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 26:
        Or doth she only seem to take
        ⁠The touch of change in calm or storm;
        ⁠But knows no more of transient form
        In her deep self, than some dead lake
        That holds the shadow of a lark
        ⁠Hung in the shadow of a heaven?
  3. (sound, voice) Low in pitch.
    • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
      The departure was not unduly prolonged. […] Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments on the subject of Divine Intention in the disposition of buckets; farewells and last commiserations; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.
  4. (of a color or flavour) Highly saturated; rich.
    That's a very deep shade of blue.
    The spices impart a deep flavour to the dish.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: […].
  5. (sleep) Sound, heavy (describing a state of sleep from which one is not easily awoken).
    He was in a deep sleep.
  6. Muddy; boggy; sandy; said of roads.
  7. (of time) Distant in the past, ancient.
    in the deep past

having its bottom far down

a long way inward

a long way forward

thick in a vertical direction

voluminous

profound

of a sound or voice, low in pitch

of a color, dark and highly saturated

difficult to awake from

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deep (comparative deeper or more deep, superlative deepest or most deep)

  1. Far, especially far down through something or into something, physically or figuratively.
    The ogre lived in a cave deep underground.
    We ventured deep into the forest.
    His problems lie deep in the subconscious.
    I am deep in debt.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
      Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
    • 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in The New York Times‎[3], retrieved 28 September 2013:
      It is one of the ironies of capital cities that each acts as a symbol of its nation, and yet few are even remotely representative of it. London has always set itself apart from the rest of Britain — but political, economic and social trends are conspiring to drive that wedge deeper.
  2. (also deeply) In a profound, not superficial, manner.
    I thought long and deep.
  3. (also deeply) In large volume.
    breathe deep, drink deep
  4. (sports) Back towards one's own goal, baseline, or similar.
    He's normally a midfield player, but today he's playing deep.

deeply

deep (countable and uncountable, plural deeps)

  1. (literary, with "the") The deep part of a lake, sea, etc.
    creatures of the deep
  2. (with "the") The sea, the ocean.
    • 1849 March 31, Edgar Allan Poe, “A Dream Within a Dream”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe: […], volumes II (Poems and Miscellanies), New York, N.Y.: J. S. Redfield, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 40:
      How few! yet how they creep / Through my fingers to the deep, / While I weep—while I weep! / O God! can I not grasp / Them with a tighter clasp?
  3. A deep hole or pit, a water well; an abyss.
    • Psalm 42 verse 7:
      Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
  4. A deep or innermost part of something in general.
  5. (literary, with "the") A silent time; quiet isolation.
    the deep of night
  6. (rare) A deep shade of colour.
    • 2014, William H. Gass, On Being Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry, page 59:
      For our blues we have the azures and ceruleans, lapis lazulis, the light and dusty, the powder blues, the deeps: royal, sapphire, navy, and marine […]
  7. (US, rare) The profound part of a problem.
  8. (cricket) A fielding position near the boundary.
    Russell is a safe pair of hands in the deep.

(US, rare) part of a problem

(cricket) a fielding position near the boundary

deep (third-person singular simple present deeps, present participle deeping, simple past and past participle deeped)

  1. (slang, MLE, transitive) To overthink; to treat as being _deeper (“more profound, significant”) than in reality.
    ― Ugh, why are these road markings so awfully arranged?
    ― Quit deeping it bro, just drive, innit.
  2. (slang, MLE, transitive) To think about, especially deeply (“profoundly”); to consider.
    • 2019 October 25, “Fact”‎[4]performed by J. Mulla, MBandz:
      No Picasso, I don't care about resistance (Deep dat).
    • 2020 February 10, “Daffy Duckin'”‎[5]performed by Angel, Chaz Marcus:
      I think I better leave it. I don't wanna beat it, this is not a Michael phase. Every time I deep it, man dem wan' eat it. Trying to recycle, babe.
    • 2021 July 23, “Heart Attack” (track 11), in We're All Alone In This Together‎[6], performed by Dave:
      I grew up so fucked but I didn't even deep it. I'm numb to the feelin' of grievin'.

Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *deup. One of several Ripuarian relict words with an unshifted post-vocalic plosive. Compare Aap (“ape”), söke (“to seek”).

deep (masculine deepe, feminine and plural deepe or **deep, comparativer deeper, superlative et deepste)

  1. (Ripuarian, archaic in many dialects) deep

Borrowed from English deep.

deep (strong nominative masculine singular deeper, not comparable)

  1. (slang) deep (intellectually profound)
    Es ist nicht so deep. ― It's not that deep.

deep

  1. alternative form of dep

deep

  1. alternative form of depe (“deeply”)

From Middle Low German diep, from Old Saxon diop.

deep

  1. deep profound
  2. (figurative) abstruse