{"def":{"short":"a hole in the ground (dug for obtaining or holding water or other purposes), i.e., a cistern or well; figuratively, an abyss (as a prison)","long":["a well","the pit of the abyss (because the nether world is thought to increase in size the further it extends from the surface of the earth and so resemble a cistern, the orifice of which is narrow)"]},"deriv":"of uncertain derivation","pronun":{"ipa":"ˈfrɛ.ɑr","ipa_mod":"ˈfre̞.ɑr","sbl":"phrear","dic":"FREH-ar","dic_mod":"FRAY-ar"}}