deep

Alternative forms

• deepe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English depe, deep, dep, deop, 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”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: dēp, IPA^(key): /diːp/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːp

Adjective

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,

      • 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 September 2013:

        While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.

      • 2015 July 11, “Antimicrobial Photoinactivation Using Visible Light Plus Water-Filtered Infrared-A (VIS + wIRA) Alters In Situ Oral Biofilms”, in PLOS ONE‎, →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 three deep along the funeral procession

   6. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Thick.
      • 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.

   7. 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.

   8. (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.

   9. (sports such as soccer, tennis) Penetrating a long way, especially a long way forward.

      a deep volley

      a deep run into the opposition half

   10. (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.

   12. (anatomy, often with to) Further into the body.

       Antonym: superficial

       the brachialis is deep to the biceps

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.

      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.
      • c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon,  […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

        Deepe clearks ſhe dumb's

      • 2009, Jarvis Cocker (lyrics and music), “I Never Said I Was Deep”, in Further Complications.:

        I never said I was deep, but I am profoundly shallow / My lack of knowledge is vast, and my horizons are narrow

   5. Inner, underlying, true; relating to one’s inner or private being rather than what is visible on the surface.
      • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XVI, 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.

   She has a very deep contralto voice.

   • 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.
   • 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

     The ways in that vale were very deep.

7. (of time) Distant in the past, ancient.

   deep time

   in the deep past

Adverb

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

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, 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.

   • 1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 95, line 324:

     Deep verſt in books and ſhallow in himſelf,

3. (also deeply) In large volume.

   breathe deep, drink deep

   • 1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 14:

     A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing; / Drink deep, or taſte not the Pierian Spring:

4. (sports) Back towards one's own goal, baseline, or similar.

   He's normally a midfield player, but today he's playing deep.

Noun

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.
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.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XLI, page 64:

     And what delights can equal those
     ⁠That stir the spirit’s inner deeps,
     ⁠When one that loves but knows not, reaps
     A truth from one that loves and knows?

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.

Related terms

See also

• deeps

References

• Deep on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Peed, peed

Alternative forms

• deef (northern Moselle Franconian; now predominant in Ripuarian)
• dief (southern Moselle Franconian)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deːp/

Adjective

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

1. (Ripuarian, archaic in many dialects) deep

Adjective

deep

1. Alternative form of depe

Adverb

deep

1. Alternative form of depe

Etymology

From Middle Low German diep, from Old Saxon diop.

Adjective

deep

1. deep, profound