firmament

plural firmaments

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

   [W]hat if all / Her ſtores were op'n'd, and this Firmament / Of Hell ſhould ſpout her Cataracts of Fire, [...]

   1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 174–175

   5 more examples

   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.

   1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Daniél XII:3, folio 364, verso

   [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.

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]

   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 God ſaid, Let there be a firmament in the midſt of the waters: and let it diuide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament; and diuided the waters, which were under the firmament, from the waters, which were aboue the firmament: and it was ſo. And God called the firmament, Heauen: and the euening and the morning were the ſecond day.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 1:6–8

   There are Crowns of Glory to be given us; and Garments that will make us ſhine like the Sun in the Firmament of Heaven.

   1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress as Originally Published by John Bunyan: Being a Fac-simile Reproduction of the First Edition, London: Elliot Stock […], 1875, →OCLC, page 11

   Synonyms: lift, welkin

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

   the international fashion firmament

   3 more examples

   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, →ISBN, 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, →ISBN, 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, →ISBN, page 40

3. historicaluncountableastronomyIn 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: [...]

   1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Ayre Rectified. With a Digression of the Ayre.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Robert Young, Miles Flesher, and Leonard Lichfield and William Turner] for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 2, member 3, page 254

   2 more examples

   But if we yet rise higher, and consider the fixed stars as so many vast oceans of flame, that are each of them attended with a different set of planets, and still discover new firmaments and new lights, that are sunk farther in those unfathomable depths of ether, so as not to be seen by the strongest of our telescopes, we are lost in such a labyrinth of suns and worlds, and confounded with the immensity and magnificence of nature.

   1712 July 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “TUESDAY, July 2, 1712. Paper X. On the Pleasures of the Imagination.”, in The Spectator, number 420; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume IV, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 79

   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. uncountableobsolete except biblicalThe abode of God and the angels; heaven.

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

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalm 150:1, column 1

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

   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, →ISBN, page 18

   1 more example

   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, →ISBN, page 7

6. alsocountablefigurativelyobsoleteA 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.

   2012 January 25, Josh Brown, “Perhaps I’ve Been a Bit too Harsh …”, in Wealth Manager Blog, The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 08 Dec 2013

7. countableobsoleteThe act or process of making firm or strengthening.