Definition of the word sky

Recent Examples on the Web

Mercury and Jupiter will be too low in the sky after sunset and will quickly set below the ground.


—Dean Regas, The Enquirer, 24 Mar. 2023




Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus – and our moon – will be visible in the night sky on Tuesday, March 28.


—Julia Musto, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2023




For the first hour or so into his night, his camera picked up pretty but rather demure purple hues in the sky, which appeared just as a white haze to the naked eye.


—Kasha Patel, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2023




San Antonians along with most Earthlings will be able to watch Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars align in the night sky Tuesday.


—Gabriella Ybarra, San Antonio Express-News, 24 Mar. 2023




After a month in hiding — rather, being washed out by a conjunction with the sun — Saturn will become easier to spot in the night sky this week.


—Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2023




On most early mornings, eagle-eyed visitors can spot strange lights in the sky moving up and down.


—Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics, 23 Mar. 2023




The meteorological phenomenon refers to long, narrow streams of water vapor in the atmosphere—truly akin to rivers in the sky.


—Stefanie Waldek, House Beautiful, 23 Mar. 2023




The 60th anniversary party for The Ocean Club ended with a riot of fireworks in the sky above the property’s Versailles Garden.


—Adam Rathe, Town & Country, 23 Mar. 2023

With a grade-point average above 4.0, and the size and leaping ability to sky high above any net, Kelly is set to be a player to watch in his junior season for the Cubs.


—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2023




The background sky around the Pillars, which also sports copious dust (albeit less of it), takes on a particularly clear and crisp look in the James Webb shot.


—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2022




And France, which had gone ahead of England in the 78th minute, needed the unmissable Harry Kane to sky his second penalty to avoid extra time.


—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Dec. 2022




Pity, then, about the dalliance with a high frame rate, which gives too much of the action of land and sky a distractingly synthetic fluidity, a look reminiscent of video game cutscenes.


—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 13 Dec. 2022




From corralling fish with plumes of mud to tenderizing tough prey by tossing it sky high, dolphins are known for a wide variety of intelligent feeding strategies.


—Sarah Keartes, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Nov. 2022




Record temperatures in Europe this summer have taken a toll on truffle stocks, pushing prices for some varieties sky high, to €1,000 (around $1,012) per kilogram or beyond.


—WIRED, 11 Nov. 2022




McCarthy didn’t allow a goal on the Union’s three attempts, watching Gazdag slip and sky Philadelphia’s first attempt over the crossbar, then diving to make saves on José Martínez and Kai Wagner.


—Greg Beacham, ajc, 6 Nov. 2022




McCarthy didn’t allow a goal on the Union’s three attempts, watching Philadelphia top scorer Daniel Gazdag slip and sky the first attempt over the crossbar, then diving to make saves on José Martínez and Kai Wagner.


—Greg Beacham, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2022


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sky

 (skī)

n. pl. skies (skīz)

1. The expanse of air over any given point on the earth; the upper atmosphere as seen from the earth’s surface.

2. often skies The appearance of the upper atmosphere, especially with reference to weather: Threatening skies portend a storm.

3. The celestial regions; the heavens: stars in the southern sky.

4. The highest level or degree: reaching for the sky.

v. skied (skīd), sky·ing, skies (skīz)

v.tr.

1. To hit or throw (a ball, for example) high in the air.

2. To hang (a painting, for example) high up on the wall, above the line of vision.

v.intr. Sports

To jump very high in order to make a play, as in getting a rebound in basketball.

---

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sky

(skaɪ)

n, pl skies

1. (Physical Geography) (sometimes plural) the apparently dome-shaped expanse extending upwards from the horizon that is characteristically blue or grey during the day, red in the evening, and black at night.

2. (Astronomy) outer space, as seen from the earth

3. (Physical Geography) (often plural) weather, as described by the appearance of the upper air: sunny skies.

4. the source of divine power; heaven

5. informal the highest level of attainment: the sky’s the limit.

6. to the skies highly; extravagantly

vb, skies, skying or skied

7. (Rowing) rowing to lift (the blade of an oar) too high before a stroke

8. (Ball Games, other than specified) (tr) informal to hit (a ball) high in the air

[C13: from Old Norse skӯ; related to Old English scio cloud, Old Saxon skio, Old Norse skjār transparent skin]

ˈskyˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sky

(skaɪ)

n., pl. skies, n.

1. the region of the clouds or the upper air; upper atmosphere of the earth.

2. the heavens or firmament, appearing as a great arch or vault.

3. the supernal or celestial heaven.

4. the climate: the sunny skies of Italy.

5. Obs. a cloud.

v.t.

6. to raise, throw, or hit aloft or into the air.

7. to hang (a painting) high on a wall, above the line of vision.

Idioms:

out of a or the clear (blue) sky, without any advance warning.

Often, skies (for defs. 1-4).

[1175–1225; Middle English < Old Norse skȳ cloud, c. Old English scēo, Old Saxon skio cloud]

sky′like`, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

sky

(skī)

The atmosphere, as seen from a given point on the Earth’s surface.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sky

 the top row of paintings in an exhibition gallery, 1891.

Examples: sky of fame, 1597; of pictures, 1891.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sky

 

See Also: CLOUD(S), MOON, SKY COLOR

1. Bleak [sky] … as if the sun had just slipped off the edge of the world —Susan Welch
2. A blue, cloudless sky spread like a field of young violets —Hugh Walpole
3. The cloudless sky was like an inverted bowl that hemmed it in —W. Somerset Maugham
4. The clouds formed like a beach and the stars were strewn among them like shells and moraine —John Cheever
5. A cloudy grey sky through which the sun shone opaque like an Alka Seltzer —Jilly Cooper
6. The evening sky, with its head dark and its scarves of color, looked like an Italian woman with an orange in her hand —Christina Stead
7. The expanse of the sky was like an infinite canvas on which human beings were incapable of projecting images from their human life because they would seem out of scale and absurd —Anaïs Nin
8. The gray (Seattle) sky lies around her, filmy and thick, like you could eat it —Barry Hannah
9. The grey, soft, muffled sky moved like the sea on a silent day —Nadine Gordimer
10. The horizon was like an open mouth —David Ignatow
11. Lifeless sky … like the first day of creation —Edith Wharton
12. Light spread across the horizon like putty —T. Coraghessan Boyle
13. Skies like inverted cups —John Rechy
14. Sky … as clear as a window —Beryl Markham
15. Sky as clear, as firm-looking, as blue marble —David Ignatow
16. Sky as drab as a cast-iron skillet —Jessamyn West
17. Sky … as soft as clouds of blue and white hyacinths —Ellen Glasgow
18. The sky bloomed like a dark rose —James Reiss
19. The sky covered with stars … like dots in a child’s puzzle —Helen Hudson
20. Sky … flat and unreal as a glimpse of distant ocean —Sharon Sheehe Stark
21. The sky … flung itself over the earth like a bolt of blue cloth —Dianne Benedict
22. (Over the city) the sky hangs like a giant silken tent —Erich Maria Remarque
23. The sky hangs like lead —Erich Maria Remarque
24. The sky hisses and bubbles like a cauldron —W. P. Kinsella
25. The sky hovering overhead like a soundless dirigible that was about to crash —Heinrich Böll
26. The sky hung over the valley … like a slack white sheet —Elizabeth Bowen
27. The sky is darkening like a stain —W. H. Auden
28. The sky is like a heavy lid —Ridgely Torrence
29. The sky is like a human mind, with uncountable shifting pictures and caverns and heights and misty places, and lakes of blue, and big sheets of forgetting, and rainbows, illusions, thunderheads, mysteries —John Hersey
30. The sky is like a page from a book that hasn’t been written —François Camoin
31. The sky is like a peach-colored sheet drawn taut at the horizon —Russell Banks
32. A sky like a dirty old slate —M. J. Farrell
33. A sky like a dustbin-lid —William Mcllvanney
34. Sky like a forget-me-not —Joyce Cary
35. Sky like a great glass eye —George Garrett
36. Sky like an immense blue gentian —Henry Van Dyke
37. Sky like a pig’s backside —Sylvia Plath
38. A sky like a tinted shell —Helen Hudson
39. The sky looked billowy, as if you could catch the corners of it and toss the stars around as in a net —Ada Jack Carver
40. Sky, pale and unreal as a photographer’s background screen —Katherine Mansfield
41. The sky seemed to be spread like a bottomless lake above them —William Styron
42. The sky shone like enamel —John Cheever
43. The sky swayed like a blue balloon on a string —Ross Macdonald
44. A sky that looked like water, broad, blue, its clouds rolling like great, feathery waves —Charles Johnson
45. The sky was full of little puffs of white clouds, like the ships we saw sailing far out to sea —Wilbur Daniel Steele
46. The sky [on a windy day] was like an unmade bed —Helen Hudson
47. The sky was like glass —James Reiss
48. The sky was like muslin —John Ashbery
49. The sky was like new-cleaned window glass full of its own shine —Joyce Cary
50. The sky was … like wet gray paper —Paul Horgan
51. The sky was overcast, monotone, as if it were made of pale gray rubber —Jean Thompson
52. The sky was pale and smudged like a dirty sheet —George Garrett
53. Smoke drifted across the sky looking like a gigantic horse’s mane blowing in the wind —Boris Pasternak
54. A starless sky as dark and thick as ink —Émile Zola
55. The sun bubbled in the sky, giving off clouds like puffs of steam —Helen Hudson
56. Winter skies hover over Iowa like a gray dome —W. P. Kinsella

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

sky

Past participle: skied
Gerund: skying

Imperative
sky
sky

Present
I sky
you sky
he/she/it skies
we sky
you sky
they sky

Preterite
I skied
you skied
he/she/it skied
we skied
you skied
they skied

Present Continuous
I am skying
you are skying
he/she/it is skying
we are skying
you are skying
they are skying

Present Perfect
I have skied
you have skied
he/she/it has skied
we have skied
you have skied
they have skied

Past Continuous
I was skying
you were skying
he/she/it was skying
we were skying
you were skying
they were skying

Past Perfect
I had skied
you had skied
he/she/it had skied
we had skied
you had skied
they had skied

Future
I will sky
you will sky
he/she/it will sky
we will sky
you will sky
they will sky

Future Perfect
I will have skied
you will have skied
he/she/it will have skied
we will have skied
you will have skied
they will have skied

Future Continuous
I will be skying
you will be skying
he/she/it will be skying
we will be skying
you will be skying
they will be skying

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been skying
you have been skying
he/she/it has been skying
we have been skying
you have been skying
they have been skying

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been skying
you will have been skying
he/she/it will have been skying
we will have been skying
you will have been skying
they will have been skying

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been skying
you had been skying
he/she/it had been skying
we had been skying
you had been skying
they had been skying

Conditional
I would sky
you would sky
he/she/it would sky
we would sky
you would sky
they would sky

Past Conditional
I would have skied
you would have skied
he/she/it would have skied
we would have skied
you would have skied
they would have skied

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Translations

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The noun is derived from Middle English ski, skie, sky (“firmament, heavens, sky; cloud; cloud of mist or vapour; fog, mist; (astrology) certain configuration of the heavens; (astronomy) sphere of the celestial realm; (physiology) cloudiness, smoky residue (for example, in urine)”) [and other forms],^[1] from Old Norse ský (“cloud”), from Proto-Germanic *skiwją (“cloud; sky”), from *skiwô (“cloud; cloud cover, haze; sky”) (whence Old English sċēo (“cloud”) and Middle English skew (“air; sky; (rare) cloud”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover; to conceal, hide”).^[2]

The verb is derived from the noun.^[3]

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: skī, IPA^(key): /skaɪ/
• Homophones: Sky, Skye
• Rhymes: -aɪ

Noun[edit]

sky (plural skies)

1. The atmosphere above a given point, especially as visible from the surface of the Earth as the place where the sun, moon, stars, and clouds are seen.

   Synonyms: blue, firmament, heaven, (chiefly Scotland) lift, (literary or poetic, archaic) welkin

   That year, a meteor fell from the sky.

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     For beſides the groues, / The skyes, the fountaines, euery region neare / Seeme all one mutuall cry. I neuer heard / So muſicall a diſcord, ſuch ſweete thunder.

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 13, page 40:

     His wearie ghoſt aſſoyld from fleſhly band, / Did not as others wont, directly fly / Vnto her reſt in Plutoes grieſly land, / Ne into ayre did vaniſh preſently, / Ne chaunged was into a ſtarre in sky: […]

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     [I]f you doe not all ſhew like guilt twoo pences to mee, and I in the cleere skie of Fame, ore-ſhine you as much as the full moone doth the cindars of the element, (which ſhew like pinnes heads to her) beleeue not the worde of the noble: […]

     [I]f you do not all appear like gilt twopences [i.e., counterfeit coins] next to me, and I, in the clear sky of fame, outshine you as much as the full moon outshines the cinders of the element [i.e., the stars] (which look like pinheads next to the moon), then don’t believe me: […]

   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene vi], page 396, column 1:

     [A] Nobler Sir, ne’re liu’d / ‘Twixt sky and ground.

   • 1660 November 11 (Gregorian calendar)​, John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 1 November 1660]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], volume I, 2nd edition, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC, page 327:

     I went with some of my relations to Court, to shew them his Ma^ties cabinet and closset of rarities; […] Here I saw […] amongst the clocks, one that shew’d the rising and setting of the Sun in y^e Zodiaq, the Sunn represented by a face and raies of gold, upon an azure skie, observing y^e diurnal and annual motion, rising and setting behind a landscape of hills, the work of our famous Fromantel; and severall other rarities.

   • 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, lines 245–248, page 103:

     [T]he cunning Leach ordains / In Summer’s Sultry Heats (for then it reigns) / To feed the Females, e’re the Sun ariſe, / Or late at Night, when Stars adorn the Skies.

   • 1700, Mat[thew] Prior, “Carmen Seculare, for the Year 1700. To the King.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 164:

     Through the large Convex of the Azure Sky, / (For thither Nature caſts our common Eye) / Fierce Meteors ſhoot their arbitrary Light, / And Comets march with lawleſs Horror bright; […]

   • 1725, Homer, “Book III”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, lines 411–412, page 120:

     A length of Ocean and unbounded sky, / Which ſcarce the Sea-fowl in a year o’erfly […]

   • 1807, William Wordsworth, “To a Sky-lark”, in Poems, in Two Volumes, volume I, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], →OCLC, page 81:

     There is madness about thee, and joy divine / In that song of thine; / Up with me, up with me, high and high, / To thy banqueting-place in the sky!

   • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Five. The End of It.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 154–155:

     Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious. Glorious!

   • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 40:

     So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one’s dreams.

   • 1926, Irving Berlin (lyrics and music), “Blue Skies”:

     Blue skies / Smiling at me / Nothing but blue skies / Do I see

2. With a descriptive word: the part of the sky which can be seen from a specific place or at a specific time; its climate, condition, etc.

   I lay back under a warm Texas sky.

   We’re not sure how long the cloudy skies will last.

   • 1782, William Cowper, “Truth”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 80:

     Yon ancient prude, whoſe wither’d features ſhow / She might be young ſome forty years ago, / […] / With boney and unkerchief’d neck defies / The rude inclemency of wintry ſkies, / And ſails with lappet-head and mincing airs / Duely at clink of bell, to morning pray’rs.

   • 1797–1798 (date written)​, [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC, part II, stanza 7, page 13:

     All in a hot and copper sky / The bloody sun at noon, / Right up above the mast did stand, / No bigger than the moon.

   • 1799–1805 (dates written), William Wordsworth, “Book I. Introduction.—Childhood and School-time.”, in The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind; an Autobiographical Poem, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 21:

     [T]he stars / Eastward were sparkling clear, and in the west / The orange sky of evening died away.

   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “A Dream of Fair Women”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza LXVII, page 201:

     With that sharp sound the white dawn’s creeping beams, / Stol’n to my brain, dissolved the mystery / Of folded sleep. The captain of my dreams / Ruled in the eastern sky.

   • 1855, Alfred Tennyson, “Maud”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 5, pages 58–59:

     But now shine on, and what care I, / Who in this stormy gulf have found a pearl / The counterclaim of space and hollow sky, […]

   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, “Burglary”, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, →OCLC, page 35:

     She wakened in sharp panic, bewildered by the grotesquerie of some half-remembered dream in contrast with the harshness of inclement fact, drowsily realising that since she had fallen asleep it had come on to rain smartly out of a shrouded sky.

3. (chiefly literary and poetic, archaic) Usually preceded by the: the abode of God or the gods, angels, the souls of deceased people, etc.; heaven; also, powers emanating from heaven.

   This mortal has incurred the wrath of the skies.

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

     Now am I dead, now am I fled, my ſoule is in the sky.

   • 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], H[enry] Lawes, editor, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC, page 9:

     Sweet Queen of Parlie, Daughter of the Sphære, / So maist thou be tranſlated to the skies, / And give reſounding grace to all Heav’ns Harmonies.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 44-49:

     Him the Almighty Power / Hurld headlong flaming from th’ Ethereal Skie / With hideous ruine and combuſtion down / To bottomleſs perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, / Who durſt defie th’ Omnipotent to Arms.

   • 1697, Virgil, “The Second Pastoral. Or, Alexis.”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, line 86, page 8:

     The Gods to live in Woods have left the Skies.

   • 1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “Henry and Emma, […]”, in Poems on Several Occasions, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 271:

     Mars ſmil’d and bow’d, the Cyprian Deity / Turn’d to the glorious Ruler of the Sky: / And Thou, She ſmiling ſaid, Great God of Days / And Verſe; behond my Deed; and ſing my Praiſe.

   • 1720, Homer; [Alexander] Pope, transl., “Book XXII”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume VI, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, lines 218–220, page 13:

     The gazing Gods lean forward from the Sky: / To whom, while eager on the Chace they look, / The Sire of Mortals and Immortals ſpoke.

   • 1731, Jonathan Swift, “Judas”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], volume VIII, new edition, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 113:

     By the just vengeance of incensed skies, / Poor bishop Judas late repenting dies.

4. Ellipsis of sky blue.

   • 1667 March 12 (first performance), John Dryden, Secret-Love, or The Maiden-Queen: […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], published 1669, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 26:

     But yet methinks, thoſe knots of Sky, do not / So well with the dead colour of her Face.

   • 1668, George Etherege, She Wou’d if She Cou’d, a Comedy. […], London: […] [John Macocke] for H[enry] Herringman, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene ii, page 39:

     [W]hy, / Brother, I have beſpoke Dinner, and engag’d / Mr. Rake-hell, the little ſmart Gentleman I have / Often promis’d thee to make thee acquainted / Withal, to bring a whole Bevy of Damſels / In Sky, and Pink, and Flame-colour’d Taffeta’s.

5. (mathematics, theoretical physics) The set of all lightlike lines (or directions) passing through a given point in space-time.

   Synonym: celestial sphere

6. (obsolete, informal, rare) In an art gallery: the upper rows of pictures that cannot easily be seen; also, the place where such pictures are hung.
7. (obsolete) A cloud. [13th–16th c.]

Usage notes[edit]

The word can be used correctly in either the singular or plural form, but the plural is now mainly literary.

Alternative forms[edit]

• skie (obsolete)

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

sky (third-person singular simple present skies, present participle skying, simple past and past participle skied or skyed)

1. (transitive)
   1. (informal) To drink (a beverage) from a container without one’s lips touching the container.
   2. (informal, dated) To hang (a picture on exhibition) near the top of a wall, where it cannot easily be seen; (by extension) to put (something) in an undesirable place.

      Antonym: floor

      • 1883 December, M[ariana] G[riswold] Van Rensselaer, “George Fuller”, in The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, volume V (New Series; volume XXVII overall), number 2, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co.; London: F[rederick] Warne & Co., →OCLC, page 227, column 1:

        The artists—I mean the younger brood, and not the Brother Academicians who «skied» his pictures—were the first and the most enthusiastic in his [George Fuller’s] praise.

   3. (slang, dated) To toss (something) upwards; specifically, to flip (a coin).

      • 1894, C[ornelis] Stoffel, “Preface”, in Studies in English, Written and Spoken: For the Use of Continental Students (First Series), Zutphen, Gelderland, Netherlands: W. J. Thieme & Co.; London: Luzac & Co., →OCLC, footnote 1, page IX:

        In ‘skying’ a coin for the purpose of deciding a point at issue between two parties, two methods are in vogue: there is either the ‘slow torture’ of spinning the coin thrice, the decision to go against the tosser-up, if the other party, twice out of the three times, guesses right on which side the coin shall fall; or, the ‘sudden death’ method in which one toss is decisive; […]

   4. (sports)
      1. To clear (a high jump bar, hurdle, etc.) by a large margin.
      2. (ball games) To hit, kick, or throw (a ball) extremely high.

         • 2009 September 8, Geoff Baker, “Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels: 09/08 game thread”, in The Seattle Times‎^[1], Seattle, Wash.: The Seattle Times Company, published 29 November 2012, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 September 2021:

           Hernandez [i.e., Félix Hernández] walked the bases loaded, then fell behind 3–1 in the count to Bobby Abreu, who then skied the next pitch to left for a sacrifice fly.
   5. (obsolete) To raise (the price of an item on auction, or the level of the bids generally) by bidding high.

      • 1892, Robert Louis Stevenson; Lloyd Osbourne, “The Wreck of the ‘Flying Scud’”, in The Wrecker, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, […], →OCLC, page 146:

        All of a sudden he appeared as a third competitor, skied the Flying Scud with four fat bids of a thousand dollars each, and then as suddenly fled the field, remaining thenceforth (as before) a silent, interested spectator.

2. (intransitive)
   1. To move quickly, as if by flying; to fly; also, to escape, to flee (especially by airplane).
   2. (sports)
      1. (ball games) To hit, kick, or throw a ball extremely high.
      2. (rowing) To raise an oar too high above the water.

Derived terms[edit]

• sky the towel, sky the wipe (chiefly Australia)

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• sky on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams[edit]

• KYS, YKS, YSK, Yks., kys

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈskyˀ]

Etymology 1[edit]

Possibly from Middle Low German schūwe, schū, from Proto-West Germanic *skeuh. Compare English shy and German scheu.

Adjective[edit]

sky (neuter sky, plural and definite singular attributive sky)

1. shy

Synonyms[edit]

• bly
• genert

References[edit]

• “sky,4” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Danish sky, from Old Norse ský, from Proto-Germanic *skiwją (“cloud, cloud cover”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, conceal”).

Noun[edit]

sky c (singular definite skyen, plural indefinite skyer)

1. cloud

Inflection[edit]

References[edit]

• “sky,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 3[edit]

From French jus, from Latin iūs (“gravy, broth, sauce”). The Danish word was probably borrowed via German Jus or Schü, pronounced [ˈʃyː], with a regular substitution of German /ʃ/ with Danish /sk/.

Noun[edit]

sky c (singular definite skyen, not used in plural form)

1. gravy, stock (a kind of soup)
2. jelly (made of gravy)
3. (cooking) aspic

References[edit]

• “sky,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 4[edit]

Possibly from Middle Low German schūwen, derived from the adjective.

Verb[edit]

sky (imperative sky, present skyr or skyer, past skyede, past participle skyet)

1. To shun.

References[edit]

• “sky,3” in Den Danske Ordbog

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• ski, skie, ske, skye, scki, schi, schye, scy, skey, skige, skiȝe, skyȝe

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse ský, from Proto-Germanic *skiwją. Doublet of skew.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /skiː/

Noun[edit]

sky (plural skyes)

1. The atmosphere or sky; that which lies above the ground.
2. A cloud or mist (mass of water droplets).
3. (rare, astronomy) A certain layout or part of the sky.
4. (rare, physiology) Clouds in urine.

Descendants[edit]

• English: sky
• Scots: sky, skie, skey, ske
• Yola: skee

References[edit]

• “skī(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-07-23.

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Low German schuwe.

Adjective[edit]

sky (neuter singular sky, definite singular and plural sky or skye, comparative skyere, indefinite superlative skyest, definite superlative skyeste)

1. shy

Synonyms[edit]

• blyg
• sjenert

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse ský, from Proto-Germanic *skiwją (“cloud, cloud cover”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, conceal”).

Noun[edit]

sky f or m (definite singular skya or skyen, indefinite plural skyer, definite plural skyene)

1. cloud

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Possibly from Middle Low German schuwen

Verb[edit]

sky (imperative sky, present tense skyr, simple past skydde, past participle skydd, present participle skyende)

1. To avoid, shun.

Derived terms[edit]

• avsky

References[edit]

• “sky” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ʃyː/

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Low German schuwe.

Adjective[edit]

sky (neuter singular sky, definite singular and plural sky or skye, comparative skyare, indefinite superlative skyast, definite superlative skyaste)

1. shy

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse ský. Akin to English sky.

Noun[edit]

sky f (definite singular skya, indefinite plural skyer, definite plural skyene)

1. cloud

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Possibly from Middle Low German schuwen

Verb[edit]

sky (present tense skyr, past tense skydde, past participle skydd or skytt, passive infinitive skyast, present participle skyande, imperative sky)

1. To avoid, shun.

Derived terms[edit]

• avsky

References[edit]

• “sky” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse ský, from Proto-Germanic *skiwją.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ʃyː/

Noun[edit]

skȳ n

1. cloud
2. sky

Declension[edit]

Descendants[edit]

• Swedish: sky

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English sky, from Old Norse ský.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [skaɪ]

Noun[edit]

sky (plural skies)

1. sky

   It’s a fair braw sky we’v got the nicht. It’s quite a beautiful sky we’ve got tonight.

2. daylight (especially at dawn)

   A wis up afore the sky. I was up before sunrise.

3. skyline, outline against the sky (especially of a hill)

   He saw the sky o a hill awa tae the west. He saw the outline of a hill in the west.

Derived terms[edit]

• sky laverock
• sky-goat
• skybrek
• skysettin
• tuith in the sky

Verb[edit]

sky (third-person singular simple present skies, present participle skies, simple past skyin, past participle skiet)

1. (of weather) To clear up.
2. To shade the eyes with the hand (so as to see better).
3. To hold up to the light and examine.

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ɧyː/

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Swedish skȳ, from Old Norse ský, from Proto-Germanic *skiwją, compare English sky.

Noun[edit]

sky c

1. (countable) sky
2. (countable) cloud

   regnskyar

   rainy skies («rain skies«)

   Synonym: moln

Usage notes[edit]

Similar to English sky in somewhat ambiguously referring to clouds in certain expressions, often in the plural. Like in English, native speakers are likely to think «sky» rather than «cloud» and unconsciously process the plural as idiomatic. The usual modern word for cloud is moln.

Declension[edit]

Declension of sky
	Singular	Plural
Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	sky	skyn	skyar	skyarna
Genitive	skys	skyns	skyars	skyarnas

See also[edit]

• himmel (“heaven”)

Etymology 2[edit]

From French jus.

Noun[edit]

sky c

1. (uncountable, cooking) The liquid that remains in a frying pan after the fried meat is ready.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle Low German schǖwen, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *skiuhijan.

Verb[edit]

sky (present skyr, preterite skydde, supine skytt, imperative sky)

1. To avoid (due to fear or disgust), shun.

Conjugation[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

• bränt barn skyr elden
• sky som pesten (“avoid like the plague”)

Further reading[edit]

• sky in Svensk ordbok.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.

In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is an abstract sphere, concentric to the Earth, on which the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars appear to be drifting. The celestial sphere is conventionally divided into designated areas called constellations.

Usually, the term sky informally refers to a perspective from the Earth’s surface; however, the meaning and usage can vary. An observer on the surface of the Earth can see a small part of the sky, which resembles a dome (sometimes called the sky bowl) appearing flatter during the day than at night.^[1] In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, denser layers of the atmosphere.

The daytime sky appears blue because air molecules scatter shorter wavelengths of sunlight more than longer ones (redder light).^[2][3][4][5] The night sky appears to be a mostly dark surface or region spangled with stars. The Sun and sometimes the Moon are visible in the daytime sky unless obscured by clouds. At night, the Moon, planets, and stars are similarly visible in the sky.

Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation are also visible in the sky. Certain birds and insects, as well as human inventions like aircraft and kites, can fly in the sky. Due to human activities, smog during the day and light pollution during the night are often seen above large cities.

Etymology

The word sky comes from the Old Norse sky, meaning ‘cloud, abode of God’. The Norse term is also the source of the Old English scēo, which shares the same Indo-European base as the classical Latin obscūrus, meaning ‘obscure’.

In Old English, the term heaven was used to describe the observable expanse above the earth. Throughout mentions in Middle English, it was gradually restricted to its current, religious meaning.^[6]

During daytime

Except for direct sunlight, most of the light in the daytime sky is caused by scattering, which is dominated by a small-particle limit called Rayleigh scattering. The scattering due to molecule-sized particles (as in air) is greater in the directions both toward and away from the source of light than it is in directions perpendicular to the incident path.^[7] Scattering is significant for light at all visible wavelengths, but is stronger at the shorter (bluer) end of the visible spectrum, meaning that the scattered light is bluer than its source: the Sun. The remaining direct sunlight, having lost some of its shorter-wavelength components, appears slightly less blue.^[5]

Scattering also occurs even more strongly in clouds. Individual water droplets refract white light into a set of colored rings. If a cloud is thick enough, scattering from multiple water droplets will wash out the set of colored rings and create a washed-out white color.^{[clarification needed][8]}

The sky can turn a multitude of colors such as red, orange, purple, and yellow (especially near sunset or sunrise) when the light must travel a much longer path (or optical depth) through the atmosphere. Scattering effects also partially polarize light from the sky and are most pronounced at an angle 90° from the Sun. Scattered light from the horizon travels through as much as 38 times the air mass as does light from the zenith, causing a blue gradient looking vivid at the zenith and pale near the horizon.^[9] Red light is also scattered if there is enough air between the source and the observer, causing parts of the sky to change color as the Sun rises or sets. As the air mass nears infinity, scattered daylight appears whiter and whiter.^[10]

Apart from the Sun, distant clouds or snowy mountaintops may appear yellow. The effect is not very obvious on clear days, but is very pronounced when clouds cover the line of sight, reducing the blue hue from scattered sunlight.^[10] At higher altitudes, the sky tends toward darker colors since scattering is reduced due to lower air density. An extreme example is the Moon, where no atmospheric scattering occurs, making the lunar sky black even when the Sun is visible.^[11]

Sky luminance distribution models have been recommended by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) for the design of daylighting schemes. Recent developments relate to «all sky models» for modelling sky luminance under weather conditions ranging from clear to overcast.^[12]

During twilight

The brightness and color of the sky vary greatly over the course of a day, and the primary cause of these properties differs as well. When the Sun is well above the horizon, direct scattering of sunlight (Rayleigh scattering) is the overwhelmingly dominant source of light. However, during twilight, the period between sunset and night or between night and sunrise, the situation is more complex.

Green flashes and green rays are optical phenomena that occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise, when a green spot is visible above the Sun, usually for no more than a second or two, or it may resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset point. Green flashes are a group of phenomena that stem from different causes,^[14] most of which occur when there is a temperature inversion (when the temperature increases with altitude rather than the normal decrease in temperature with altitude). Green flashes may be observed from any altitude (even from an aircraft). They are usually seen above an unobstructed horizon, such as over the ocean, but are also seen above clouds and mountains. Green flashes may also be observed at the horizon in association with the Moon and bright planets, including Venus and Jupiter.^[15][16]

Earth’s shadow is the shadow that the planet casts through its atmosphere and into outer space. This atmospheric phenomenon is visible during civil twilight (after sunset and before sunrise). When the weather conditions and the observing site permit a clear view of the horizon, the shadow’s fringe appears as a dark or dull bluish band just above the horizon, in the low part of the sky opposite of the (setting or rising) Sun’s direction. A related phenomenon is the Belt of Venus (or antitwilight arch), a pinkish band that is visible above the bluish band of Earth’s shadow in the same part of the sky. No defined line divides Earth’s shadow and the Belt of Venus; one colored band fades into the other in the sky.^[17][18]

Twilight is divided into three stages according to the Sun’s depth below the horizon, measured in segments of 6°. After sunset, the civil twilight sets in; it ends when the Sun drops more than 6° below the horizon. This is followed by the nautical twilight, when the Sun is between 6° and 12° below the horizon (depth between −6° and −12°), after which comes the astronomical twilight, defined as the period between −12° and −18°. When the Sun drops more than 18° below the horizon, the sky generally attains its minimum brightness.^[19]

Several sources can be identified as the source of the intrinsic brightness of the sky, namely airglow, indirect scattering of sunlight, scattering of starlight, and artificial light pollution.

During the night

The term night sky refers to the sky as seen at night. The term is usually associated with skygazing and astronomy, with reference to views of celestial bodies such as stars, the Moon, and planets that become visible on a clear night after the Sun has set. Natural light sources in a night sky include moonlight, starlight, and airglow, depending on location and timing. The fact that the sky is not completely dark at night can be easily observed. Were the sky (in the absence of moon and city lights) absolutely dark, one would not be able to see the silhouette of an object against the sky.

The night sky and studies of it have a historical place in both ancient and modern cultures. In the past, for instance, farmers have used the state of the night sky as a calendar to determine when to plant crops. The ancient belief in astrology is generally based on the belief that relationships between heavenly bodies influence or convey information about events on Earth. The scientific study of the night sky and bodies observed within it, meanwhile, takes place in the science of astronomy.

Within visible-light astronomy, the visibility of celestial objects in the night sky is affected by light pollution. The presence of the Moon in the night sky has historically hindered astronomical observation by increasing the amount of ambient lighting. With the advent of artificial light sources, however, light pollution has been a growing problem for viewing the night sky. Special filters and modifications to light fixtures can help to alleviate this problem, but for the best views, both professional and amateur optical astronomers seek viewing sites located far from major urban areas.

Use in weather forecasting

Along with pressure tendency, the condition of the sky is one of the more important parameters used to forecast weather in mountainous areas. Thickening of cloud cover or the invasion of a higher cloud deck is indicative of rain in the near future. At night, high thin cirrostratus clouds can lead to halos around the Moon, which indicate the approach of a warm front and its associated rain.^[20] Morning fog portends fair conditions and can be associated with a marine layer, an indication of a stable atmosphere.^[21] Rainy conditions are preceded by wind or clouds which prevent fog formation. The approach of a line of thunderstorms could indicate the approach of a cold front. Cloud-free skies are indicative of fair weather for the near future.^[22] The use of sky cover in weather prediction has led to various weather lore over the centuries.^[23]

Tropical cyclones

Within 36 hours of the passage of a tropical cyclone’s center, the pressure begins to fall and a veil of white cirrus clouds approaches from the cyclone’s direction. Within 24 hours of the closest approach to the center, low clouds begin to move in, also known as the bar of a tropical cyclone, as the barometric pressure begins to fall more rapidly and the winds begin to increase. Within 18 hours of the center’s approach, squally weather is common, with sudden increases in wind accompanied by rain showers or thunderstorms. Within six hours of the center’s arrival, rain becomes continuous. Within an hour of the center, the rain becomes very heavy and the highest winds within the tropical cyclone are experienced. When the center arrives with a strong tropical cyclone, weather conditions improve and the sun becomes visible as the eye moves overhead. Once the system departs, winds reverse and, along with the rain, suddenly increase. One day after the center’s passage, the low overcast is replaced with a higher overcast, and the rain becomes intermittent. By 36 hours after the center’s passage, the high overcast breaks and the pressure begins to level off.^[24]

Use in transportation

Flight is the process by which an object moves through or beyond the sky (as in the case of spaceflight), whether by generating aerodynamic lift, propulsive thrust, aerostatically using buoyancy, or by ballistic movement, without any direct mechanical support from the ground. The engineering aspects of flight are studied in aerospace engineering which is subdivided into aeronautics, which is the study of vehicles that travel through the air, and astronautics, the study of vehicles that travel through space, and in ballistics, the study of the flight of projectiles. While human beings have been capable of flight via hot air balloons since 1783,^[25] other species have used flight for significantly longer. Animals, such as birds, bats, and insects are capable of flight. Spores and seeds from plants use flight, via use of the wind, as a method of propagating their species.^[26]

Significance in mythology

Many mythologies have deities especially associated with the sky. In Egyptian religion, the sky was deified as the goddess Nut and as the god Horus. Dyeus is reconstructed as the god of the sky, or the sky personified, in Proto-Indo-European religion, whence Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder in Greek mythology and the Roman god of sky and thunder Jupiter.

In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Altjira (or Arrernte) is the main sky god and also the creator god. In Iroquois mythology, Atahensic was a sky goddess who fell down to the ground during the creation of the Earth. Many cultures have drawn constellations between stars in the sky, using them in association with legends and mythology about their deities.

Image gallery

See also

• Cyanometer

References

External links

• Media related to Sky at Wikimedia Commons