firmament

See also: Firmament

English

Etymology

English from the 13th century. Borrowed from Latin firmāmentum (from firmō (“strengthen”), from firmus (“firm”)), literally "that which strengthens or supports". The term is coined in the Vulgata in imitation of LXX στερέωμα (steréōma, “firm or solid structure”), which in turn translates Hebrew רקיע‎, strictly speaking a mistranslation, as the original Hebrew term meant "expanse", from the root רקע‎ "to spread out", which in Syriac had acquired the meaning "to make firm or solid".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɜː(r)məmənt/

Noun

firmament (plural firmaments)

1. (uncountable) The vault of the heavens; the sky.
   • 1611, King James Version, Genesis 1:6–8:

     And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven.

2. The field or sphere of an interest or activity.

   the international fashion firmament

3. A piece of jewelry meant to be worn in a headdress.
4. (archaic, old astronomy) In the geocentric Ptolemaic system, the eighth sphere, which carried the fixed stars.
5. (obsolete) A foundation; support; basis.
6. (obsolete) The act or process of making firm or strengthening.

Synonyms

Terms derived from Germanic roots, of the sense “vault of the heavens”

• lift (dialectal)
• sky
• welkin (poetic, archaic)

 

Derived terms

Terms derived from “firmament”

• firmamental (adjective)
• unfirmamented (adjective)

 

Related terms

Terms derived from Latin “firmō, firmus”

• affirm (verb)
• affirmation (noun)
• ∴ affirmational (adjective)
• affirmative (adjective/noun)
• confirm (verb)
• ∴ confirmability (noun)
• ∴ confirmative (adjective)
• confirmand (noun)
• confirmation (noun)
• ∴ confirmational (adjective)
• ∴ disconfirmation (noun)
• firm (adjective/verb/noun)
• ∴ firmly (adverb)
• ∴ firmness (noun)
• firmitude (noun)
• firmity (noun)
• infirm (adjective/verb)

 

Translations

the vault of the heavens; the sky

• Bashkir: күк көмбәҙе (kük kömbäðe)
• Bulgarian: небосвод m (nebosvod)
• Catalan: firmament m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蒼天 (zh), 苍天 (zh) (cāngtiān), 天空 (zh) (tiānkōng), 蒼穹 (zh), 苍穹 (zh) (cāngqióng)

• Dutch: hemelgewelf n
• Finnish: taivaankansi (fi)
• French: firmament (fr) m
• Galician: firmamento (gl) m
• German: Firmament (de) n
• Greek: στερέωμα (el) n (steréoma)
• Hebrew: רקיע‎ (he) m (raki'a)
• Icelandic: festing f, himinhvel n, himinhvolf (is) n, andlangur (is) m, himinn (is) m
• Indonesian: cakrawala (id)

• Irish: neamh f
• Italian: firmamento (it) m
• Japanese: 天空 (ja) (てんくう, tenkū), 大空 (おおぞら, ōzora)
• Latin: firmāmentum n
• Latvian: debesjums m
• Norwegian Bokmål: hvelving m
• Occitan: firmament m
• Persian: فلک‎ (fa) (falak)
• Portuguese: firmamento (pt) m
• Russian: небе́сный свод m (nebésnyj svod), небосво́д (ru) m (nebosvód)
• Spanish: firmamento (es) m
• Swedish: firmament (sv) n, himlavalv (sv) n
• Tagalog: santinakpan (tl)
• Welsh: entrych nen m, entrych nef m

basis

the field or sphere of an interest

• Greek: στερέωμα (el) n (steréoma)

• Italian: firmamento (it) m

References

• “firmament” in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, →ISBN.

Further reading

• Firmament in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

---

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin firmāmentum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /fiɾ.məˈment/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /fir.məˈmen/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /fiɾ.maˈment/

Noun

firmament m (plural firmaments)

1. firmament, heavens

Further reading

• “firmament” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “firmament” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “firmament” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “firmament” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

---

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin firmāmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fiʁ.ma.mɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

firmament m (plural firmaments)

1. firmament

Further reading

• “firmament” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

---

Nauruan

Etymology

From German Firmament, from Middle High German firmament, from Late Latin firmāmentum.

Noun

firmament

1. firmament

---

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin firmāmentum.

Noun

firmament m (plural firmaments)

1. firmament, heavens

Further reading

• Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians, 2 edition, →ISBN, page 484.

---

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin firmāmentum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʲirˈma.mɛnt/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

firmament m inan

1. celestial sphere, heaven, sky
2. (archaic) foundation

Further reading

• firmament in Polish dictionaries at PWN