welkin

Meaning

1. The sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament.
2. The upper atmosphere occupied by clouds, flying birds, etc.
3. The place above the Earth where God or other deities live; heaven.

Synonyms

sky

firmament

empyrean

heavens

heaven

sphere

celestial sphere

vault of heaven

blue air

starry-sky

atmosphere

the vault of heaven

azure

blue

blue sky

celestial

ether

space

vault

Translations

ουρανός

céu

hemel

cielo

σύμπαν

sema

cielo

Himmelsgewölbe

uitspansel

volta del cel

esfera celeste

سَمَاء

ciel

sphère céleste

Luftraum

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwɛlkɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: welken

Inherited from Old English: wolcn

Cognate with Dutch: wolk

Cognate with German: Wolke

In summary

Inherited from Middle English welken, wolken (“weather; heavens; earlier cloud”), from Old English wolcnu (“sky, heavens”), plural form of wolcn (“cloud”), from Proto-West Germanic *wolkn (“cloud”), from Proto-Germanic *wulkną (“cloud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥ɡ-no-m, from *welg- (“damp; wet”). Cognate with Dutch wolk (“cloud”), German Wolke (“cloud”).