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heaven

noun

  1. the sky
  2. the abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky
  3. the afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust
L156252 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈhɛvən/ / [ˈhɛvn̩]

name

Etymology: See heaven.

  1. The abode of God or the gods, when considered as a specific location; the abode of the blessed departed who reside in the presence of God or the gods

    Conſider firſt that the excommunicated Prelate ſaith... Kings are not immediatly from God, as by any ſpeciall Ordinance ſent from Heaven by the miniſtery of Angels and Prophets, there were but ſome few ſuch, as Moſes, Saul, David, etc.

    Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n.

  2. Providence, the will of God or the gods, when considered as a personal entity or specific aspect of the divine; Fate

    ...but that the will And high permission of all-ruling Heaven Left him at large to his own dark designs,

    Heaven commands thine arm To lift the sure-destroying sword!

  3. Other extended senses of heaven as a specific place similar to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed departed

    The mind is its own place, and in it self Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.

  4. The sky, particularly its distant aspect as the abode of the sun, moon, and stars

    Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues.

    The Heauens...are carried in 24 houres from East to West.

  5. The supreme God or Nature which controls the universe.

    What Heaven has conferred is called the Nature...

    ...‘Heaven’ as we use it throughout the book is only a convenient but inaccurate translation of the Chinese character tian. Heaven in Chinese religions as well as in the Confucian tradition has multidimensional implications... In its metaphysical and physical connotation, Heaven... refers to... Nature. Applied in the spiritual realm, it signifies an anthropomorphic Lord or a Supreme Being who presides in Heaven, and rules over or governs directly the spiritual and material worlds.

  6. A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Evan
  7. A female given name from English of modern usage from the noun heaven.

noun

Etymology: From a wide variety of Middle English forms including hevene, heven, hevin, and hewin (“heaven, sky”), from Old English heofon, heofone (“heaven, sky”), from Proto-West Germanic *hebn (“heaven, sky”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots heiven, hewin (“heaven, sky”), Middle Dutch heven (“sky, heaven”), Low German Heven (“heaven, sky”), and possibly the rare Icelandic and Old Norse hifinn (“heaven, sky”), which are all probably dissimilated forms of the Germanic root which appears in Old Norse himinn (“heaven, sky”), Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (himins, “heaven, sky”), Old Swedish himin, Old Danish himæn and probably also (in another variant form) Old Saxon himil, Old Dutch himil (modern Dutch hemel), and Old High German himil (German Himmel). Accepting these as cognates, some scholars propose a further derivation from Proto-Germanic *himinaz (“cover, cloud cover, firmament, sky, heaven”).

  1. The sky, specifically:

    All that is vnder the heauen.

    The ordinaunce...made such a great noyse and thunderyng that it seemed the heaven would have fallen.

  2. The sky, specifically:

    Everie...Countrie, by the nature of the place, the climate of the Heaven, and the influence of the starres hath certaine vertues.

    The qualitie of mercie is not ſtraind, it droppeth as the gentle raine from heauen vpon the place beneath

  3. The sky, specifically:

    Euery man cannot, with Archimedes, make a heauen of brasse.

  4. The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:

    And there was a battel in heauen. Michael & his Angels foght againſt the dragon, and the dragon foght & his Angels. But they preuailed not, nether was their place founde anie more in heauen.

    Conſider firſt that the excommunicated Prelate ſaith... Kings are not immediatly from God, as by any ſpeciall Ordinance ſent from Heaven by the miniſtery of Angels and Prophets, there were but ſome few ſuch, as Moſes, Saul, David, etc.

  5. The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:

    With Ioue in heauen, or some where else.

    As he [Muhammad] was returning, in the fourth Heaven, Moses advised him to goe back to God.

  6. The abode of God or the gods, traditionally conceived as beyond the sky; especially:

    […]he cannot thriue, Vnlesse her prayers, whom heauen delights to heare And loues to grant, repreeue him from the wrath Of greatest Iustice.

    After that thou shalt haue knowen that the heauens doe rule.

  7. The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically

    I wonder what your idea of heaven would be—A beautiful vacuum filled with wealthy monogamists, all powerful and members of the best families drinking themselves to death. And hell would probably be an ugly vacuum full of poor polygamists unable to obtain booze... To me heaven would be a big bull ring with me holding two barrera seats and a trout stream outside that no one else was allowed to fish in and two lovely houses in the town; one where I would have my wife and children and be monogamous and love them truly and well and the other where I would have my nine beautiful mistresses on 9 different floors...

  8. The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically:

    Teache the people to gett heuen with fastynge.

    ...what I speake My body shall make good vpon this earth, Or my diuine soule answer it in heauen.

  9. The afterlife of the blessed dead, traditionally conceived as opposed to an afterlife of the wicked and unjust (compare hell); specifically:

    The belief in ascending to Heaven after death became widespread in the Han dynasty.

  10. Any paradise; any blissful place or experience.

    Ile follow thee and make a heauen of hell.

    England, that was formerly the heaven, would be now the hell for women.

  11. A state of bliss; a peaceful ecstasy.

    Husbandes are in heauen...whose wiues scold not.

    Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!

  12. Similarly blissful afterlives, places, or states for particular people, animals, or objects.

    Perhaps it has gone to the dog heaven, and is wagging somewhere in glory.

    His pet name for Easthampton is ‘Goose-heaven’, and he harps upon the idea eternally.

verb

Etymology: From a wide variety of Middle English forms including hevene, heven, hevin, and hewin (“heaven, sky”), from Old English heofon, heofone (“heaven, sky”), from Proto-West Germanic *hebn (“heaven, sky”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots heiven, hewin (“heaven, sky”), Middle Dutch heven (“sky, heaven”), Low German Heven (“heaven, sky”), and possibly the rare Icelandic and Old Norse hifinn (“heaven, sky”), which are all probably dissimilated forms of the Germanic root which appears in Old Norse himinn (“heaven, sky”), Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (himins, “heaven, sky”), Old Swedish himin, Old Danish himæn and probably also (in another variant form) Old Saxon himil, Old Dutch himil (modern Dutch hemel), and Old High German himil (German Himmel). Accepting these as cognates, some scholars propose a further derivation from Proto-Germanic *himinaz (“cover, cloud cover, firmament, sky, heaven”).

  1. To transport to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed.

    He heauens himselfe on earth, & for a litle pelfe cousens himselfe of blisse.

  2. To beatify, enchant, or please greatly.

    They [Byron's Tales]...enraptured the public and heavened Murray.

  3. To beautify, to make into a paradise.