Firmament

The heavens or the sky; a sphere or world viewed as a collection of people.

The firmament (sense 1) or sky.One version of the Ptolemaic system of celestial spheres, with the firmament (indicated in Latin as Firmamentu[m]; sense 3) shown as the eighth heaven[n 1] From Middle English firmament, furmament (“heaven; sky”), from Old French firmament (“firmament”), or from its etymon Latin firmāmentum (“support; sky”), from firmāre (“to strengthen”) + -mentum (suffix indicating an instrument or medium, or the result of an action). Firmāre is the present active infinitive of firmō (“to make firm, strengthen”), from firmus (“firm, strong, stable”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-

(Britain, dialectal) lift, (poetic, archaic) welkin