Word: heaven Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From a wide variety of Middle English forms including hevene, heven, hevin, and hewin (“heaven, sky”), from Old English heofon, heofone (“heaven, sky”), from Proto-West Germanic *hebn (“heaven, sky”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots heiven, hewin (“heaven, sky”), Middle Dutch heven (“sky, heaven”), Low German Heven (“heaven, sky”), and possibly the rare Icelandic and Old Norse hifinn (“heaven, sky”), which are all probably dissimilated forms of the Germanic root which appears in Old Norse himinn (“heaven, sky”), Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (himins, “heaven, sky”), Old Swedish himin, Old Danish himæn and probably also (in another variant form) Old Saxon himil, Old Dutch himil (modern Dutch hemel), and Old High German himil (German Himmel). Accepting these as cognates, some scholars propose a further derivation from Proto-Germanic *himinaz (“cover, cloud cover, firmament, sky, heaven”). Pronunciation: /ˈhɛvən/, [ˈhɛvn̩] 1. The sky, specifically: Labels: countable, dated, plural-normally, poetic, uncountable Example: All that is vnder the heauen. Example: The ordinaunce...made such a great noyse and thunderyng that it seemed the heaven would have fallen. 2. The sky, specifically: Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues. Example: The qualitie of mercie is not ſtraind, it droppeth as the gentle raine from heauen vpon the place beneath 3. The sky, specifically: Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: Euery man cannot, with Archimedes, make a heauen of brasse. 4. The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially: Labels: capitalized, countable, uncountable, usually Example: And there was a battel in heauen. Michael & his Angels foght againſt the dragon, and the dragon foght & his Angels. But they preuailed not, nether was their place founde anie more in heauen. Example: Conſider firſt that the excommunicated Prelate ſaith... Kings are not immediatly from God, as by any ſpeciall Ordinance ſent from Heaven by the miniſtery of Angels and Prophets, there were but ſome few ſuch, as Moſes, Saul, David, etc. 5. The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially: Labels: broadly, capitalized, countable, often, uncountable Example: With Ioue in heauen, or some where else. Example: As he [Muhammad] was returning, in the fourth Heaven, Moses advised him to goe back to God. 6. The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially: Labels: broadly, capitalized, countable, uncountable, usually Example: […]he cannot thriue, Vnlesse her prayers, whom heauen delights to heare And loues to grant, repreeue him from the wrath Of greatest Iustice. Example: After that thou shalt haue knowen that the heauens doe rule. 7. The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I wonder what your idea of heaven would be—A beautiful vacuum filled with wealthy monogamists, all powerful and members of the best families drinking themselves to death. And hell would probably be an ugly vacuum full of poor polygamists unable to obtain booze... To me heaven would be a big bull ring with me holding two barrera seats and a trout stream outside that no one else was allowed to fish in and two lovely houses in the town; one where I would have my wife and children and be monogamous and love them truly and well and the other where I would have my nine beautiful mistresses on 9 different floors... 8. The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically: Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Teache the people to gett heuen with fastynge. Example: ...what I speake My body shall make good vpon this earth, Or my diuine soule answer it in heauen. 9. The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically: Labels: broadly, capitalized, countable, often, uncountable Example: The belief in ascending to Heaven after death became widespread in the Han dynasty. 10. Any paradise; any blissful place or experience. Labels: broadly, countable, uncountable Example: Ile follow thee and make a heauen of hell. Example: England, that was formerly the heaven, would be now the hell for women. 11. A state of bliss; a peaceful ecstasy. Labels: broadly, countable, uncountable Example: Husbandes are in heauen...whose wiues scold not. Example: Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven! 12. Similarly blissful afterlives, places, or states for particular people, animals, or objects. Labels: countable, informal, uncountable Example: Perhaps it has gone to the dog heaven, and is wagging somewhere in glory. Example: His pet name for Easthampton is ‘Goose-heaven’, and he harps upon the idea eternally.