mountain in Japan, also Fujiyama (with Japanese yama "mountain"), of unknown origin. Some of the senses that have been suggested are "prosperous man," "fire-spitter," "incomparable," and "beauty of the long slope hanging in the sky."
Old English heofon "home of God," earlier "the visible sky, firmament," probably from Proto-Germanic *hibin-, a dissimilation of *himin- (source also of Low German heben, Old Norse himinn, Gothic himins, Old Frisian himul, Dutch hemel, German Himmel "heaven, sky"), which is of uncertain and disputed origin.
Perhaps it means literally "a covering," from a PIE root *kem- "to cover" (which also has been proposed as the source of chemise). Watkins derives it elaborately from PIE *ak- "sharp" via *akman- "stone, sharp stone," then "stony vault of heaven."
The English word is attested from late 14c. as "a heavenly place; a state of bliss." The plural use in sense of "sky" probably is from the Ptolemaic theory of space as composed of many spheres, but it also formerly was used in the same sense in the singular in Biblical language, as a translation of Hebrew plural shamayim. Heaven-sent (adj.) is attested from 1640s.
masc. proper name, from Latin Iulius (Spanish Julio, Italian Giulio), name of a Roman gens, perhaps a contraction of *Iovilios "pertaining to or descended from Jove," from PIE *iou-li-, from root *dyeu- "to shine," in derivatives "sky, heaven, god."
"the emitting of sparks or spark-like flashes," specifically the tremulous twinkling of stars in the night sky, 1620s, from Latin scintillationem (nominative scintillatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of scintillare "to sparkle, glitter, gleam, flash," fromscintilla "spark" (see scintilla).
"northern or southern end of Earth's axis," late 14c., from Old French pole or directly from Latin polus "end of an axis;" also "the sky, the heavens" (a sense sometimes used in English from 16c.), from Greek polos "pivot, axis of a sphere, the sky," from PIE *kwol- "turn round" (PIE *kw- becomes Greek p- before some vowels), from root *kwel- (1) "revolve, move round."
Originally principally in reference to the celestial sphere and the fixed points about which (by the revolution of the Earth) the stars appear to revolve; also sometimes of the terrestrial poles (poles of this world), the two points on the Earth's surface which mark the axis of rotation.
"the act of going backward," in reference to the apparent motion of planets in the sky, 1640s, noun of action, formed on model of progression, from Latin retrogressus, past participle of retrogradi "move backward" (see retrograde). Related: Retrogressional.
1839, "of the Milky Way, of the bright band of stars around the night sky," from Late Latin galacticus, from galaxias (see galaxy). In modern scientific sense "pertaining to (our) galaxy," from 1849. From 1844 as "of or pertaining to milk."
"distinguished woman singer, prima donna," 1864, from Italian diva "goddess, fine lady," from Latin diva "goddess," fem. of divus "a god, divine (one)," related to deus "god, deity" (from PIE root *dyeu- "to shine," in derivatives "sky, heaven, god").
