firmament

Etymology

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-European *dʰer- (“to hold; to support”). The Latin word was used in the Vulgate version of the Bible to translate the Ancient Greek στερέωμα (steréōma, “foundation, framework; firmament”) in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), which in turn was used to translate the Hebrew רָקִיעַ (rāqī́aʿ, “celestial dome, vault of heaven”), from the root ר־ק־ע (r-q-`); in Classical Syriac the similar root ܪ-ܩ-ܥ (r-q-ʿ) (related to compacting) gave rise to ܪܩܝܥܐ (rəqīʿā, “compact; firm; firmament, heavens, sky; celestial sphere”).

noun

1. (usually uncountable, literary, poetic, also figurative) The vault of the heavens, where the clouds, sun, moon, and stars can be seen; the heavens, the sky.
   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, … 1609, Everie VVoman in Her Humor, London: […] E[dward] A[llde] for Thomas Archer,[…], →OCLC; reprinted as John S. Farmer, editor, Every Woman in Her Humor (The Tudor Facsimile Texts), [Amersham, Buckinghamshire]: [John S. Farmer][…], 1913, →OCLC
   And far above the gentle moon sails on / Through the blue firmament. It is a scene / That gives that spot of earth the air of Heav'n! 1825 January, H. G. B., “The Bride of Parma”, in The Edinburgh Magazine, and Literary Miscellany;[…], volume XVI, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, page 68, column 2
   Some of his Confucius's] philosophical principles are, … that the cause or principle of things must have had a co-existence with the things themselves; … and that the central point of influence, from which this cause chiefly acts, is the blue firmament (tien), whence its emanations are spread over the universe; … the sun, moon, stars, and elements, are considered also as composing the firmament, or Teen, as the immediate agents of the Deity, and as the productive powers in creation. 1831, James Bell, “[Chinese Empire.] Chapter IV.”, in A System of Geography, Popular and Scientific,[…], volume V, Glasgow: Archibald Fullarton and Co. and Blackie and Son; […], →OCLC, page 34
   On its far side, on the very horizon of the world, stood purple mountains, so tall and sharp that they bridged the firmaments. 2001 December, J. Robert King, “Who are We?”, in Brian Thomsen, editor, Lancelot du Lethe, New York, N.Y.: Tor Books, page 229
   The feeling I dread the most is not fear but despair—the dim, oppressive sense that the more things change, the more they stay the same; that each of us with a frozen heart "like an old-stone savage armed" will continue to move in darkness, lifting boulders, patrolling the firmaments of divisive anger. 2002, Barbara Kingsolver, “Small Wonder”, in Small Wonder: Essays, New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins, published 2009
   … 'The Morning Star' and 'The Evening Star' have the same celestial object as Bedeutung, but present that object in different ways, perhaps in one case as the object that appears in such and such a place in the morning firmament and in the other as the object that appears in such and such a place in the evening firmament. 2013, Alexander Miller, “The Development of Theories of Meaning: From Frege to McDowell and Beyond”, in Michael Beaney, editor, The Oxford Handbook of the History of Analytic Philosophy, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, part II (The Development of Analytic Philosophy), page 658
2. (countable) 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. 1997, Michael Schaller, “Japan: From Enemy to Ally, 1945–50”, in Altered States: The United States and Japan since the Occupation, New York, N.Y., Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, page 7
   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. 1999, Shannon Wiley, “Introduction”, in Seaford, Delaware (Images of America), Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, published 2001, page 8
   She Anna Pavlova] provided articulate, well-thought-out and educational interviews and articles from her first appearances in which she would lay out her life story, the course of her training, the place of ballet in the European and Russian artistic firmaments. 2008, Adrienne L. McLean, “A Channel for Progress: Theatrical Dance, Popular Culture, and (The) American Ballet”, in Dying Swans and Madmen: Ballet, the Body, and Narrative Cinema, New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, page 40
3. (uncountable, astronomy, historical) In the geocentric Ptolemaic system, the eighth celestial sphere which carried the fixed stars; (countable, by extension) any celestial sphere.
   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. 1715, H[enry] Curson, “A Cosmographical Introduction to the Geographical Description of the World”, in A New Description of the World.[…], 2nd edition, […] Benj[amin] Barker,[…], →OCLC
4. (uncountable, obsolete except biblical) The abode of God and the angels; heaven.
5. (countable, obsolete) 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: … 1690, [Mary Evelyn], “A Voyage to Marryland; or, The Ladies Dressing-room”, in John Evelyn], editor, Mundus Muliebris: Or, The Ladies Dressing-room Unlock’d, and Her Toilette Spread.[…], London: […] R[ichard] Bentley[…], →OCLC; reprinted Saint Peter Port, Guernsey: The Toucan Press, 1978, page 7
   Firmament. Diamonds, or other precious Stones heading the Pins which they stick into the Tour, and Hair, like Stars.] [1690, [Mary Evelyn], “The Fop-dictionary.[…]”, in John Evelyn], editor, Mundus Muliebris: Or, The Ladies Dressing-room Unlock’d, and Her Toilette Spread.[…], London: […] R[ichard] Bentley[…], →OCLC; reprinted Saint Peter Port, Guernsey: The Toucan Press, 1978, page 18
6. (countable, obsolete, also figurative) 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. 25 January 2012, Josh Brown, “Perhaps I’ve Been a Bit too Harsh …”, in Wealth Manager Blog, The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 2013-12-08
7. (countable, obsolete) The act or process of making firm or strengthening.