firmament

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   The vault of the heavens, where the clouds, sun, moon, and stars can be seen

   The vault of the heavens, where the clouds, sun, moon, and stars can be seen; the heavens, the sky.

   • And thei that be wiſe, ſhal ſhine, as the brightnes of the firmament: & they that turne to righteouſnes, ſhal ſhine as the ſtarres, for euer and euer.
   • [T]his moſt excellent Canopie the ayre, looke you, this braue orehanging firmament, this maieſticall roofe fretted with golden fire, why it appeareth nothing to me but a foule and peſtilent congregation of vapoures.
   • Now to ye all, be firmaments to ſtars, / Be ſtars to Firmaments, and as you are / Splendent, ſo be fixed, not wandring, nor / Irregular, both keeping courſe together, [...]
2. 2

   The field or sphere of an activity or interest.

   • the international fashion firmament
   • Europe dominated foreign policy concerns, followed by the Near East and China, where General George C[atlett] Marshall tried, in vain, to mediate a civil war. Japan glowed dimly in the foreign policy firmament.
   • By this time, Seaford was a town of 2,000 people, and, in the next decade, the poultry industry became a rising star in the firmament of economic growth as new housing and feeding techniques were introduced.
3. 3

   In the geocentric Ptolemaic system, the eighth celestial sphere which carried the fixed…

   In the geocentric Ptolemaic system, the eighth celestial sphere which carried the fixed stars; (countable, by extension) any celestial sphere.

   • [B]etweene the ſphere of Saturne and the Firmament, there is ſuch an incredible and vaſt ſpace or diſtance (7000000. ſemidiameters of the earth, as Tycho [Brahe] calculates) void of ſtarres: [...]
   • The World Cœlestial. Containing 11 Sphæres or Heavens, ſay the Theologians and Aſtronomers. [...] Theſe are called the Primum Mobile, the Chriſtaline Heaven, the Firmament adorned with the Fixed Stars, and the Heavens of the Seven Planets.
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   1. 4

      The abode of God and the angels

      The abode of God and the angels; heaven.

      • Praiſe ye the Lord. Praiſe God in his Sanctuarie: Praiſe him in the firmament of his power.
   2. 5

      A piece of jewellery worn in a headdress with numerous gems resembling stars in the sky.

      • Pins tipt with Diamond Point, and head, / By which the Curls are faſtened, / In radiant Firmament ſet out, / And all over the Hood ſur-tout: [...]
      • Firmament. Diamonds, or other precious Stones heading the Pins which they stick into the Tour, and Hair, like Stars.
   3. 6

      A basis or foundation

      A basis or foundation; a support.

      • Ten years ago, the Wall Street wirehouse brokerage firm seemed unassailable – part of the very firmament underpinning the entire investment industry from coast to coast.
   4. 7

      The act or process of making firm or strengthening.

The neighborhood