AskDefine | Define sky

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Dictionary Definition

sky n : the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth v : throw or toss with a light motion; "flip me the beachball"; "toss me newspaper" [syn: flip, toss, pitch]

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Alternative spellings

Etymology

From etyl non ský (= Old English sc=unicode), from , from .

Pronunciation

  • /skaɪ/, /skaI/
  • Rhymes with: -aɪ

Noun

  1. A cloud.
  2. The atmosphere above a given point, especially as visible from the ground during the day.
    That year, a meteor fell from the sky.
  3. The part of the sky which can be seen from a specific place or at a specific time; its condition, climate etc.
    I lay back under a warm Texas sky.
    We're not sure how long the cloudy skies will last.
  4. Heaven.
    This mortal has incurred the wrath of the skies.
  5. Also used to represent pornographic material.

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

Related terms

Translations

atmosphere above a point
specific view, condition
heaven
  • Arabic: جنة
  • Aramaic:
    Syriac: ܫܡܝܐ (shmayā, shmayo) p
    Hebrew: שמיא (shmayā, shmayo) p
  • Armenian: երկինք (erkink‘)
  • Bosnian: nebesa
  • Croatian: nebo
  • Danish: himmel
  • Dutch: hemel
  • Finnish: taivas
  • French: ciel
  • German: Luft, Himmel
  • Hebrew: שמיים (šamayím)
  • Hindi: आसमान (āsmān) , आकाश (ākāš) , गगन (gagan)
  • Icelandic: himinn
  • Japanese: 天 (てん, ten)
  • Korean: 하늘나라 (haneulnara), 천국 (天國, cheonguk)
  • Kurdish: به‌هه‌شت
  • Latin: caelum
  • Latvian: debesis
  • Lithuanian: dangus
  • Norwegian: himmel
  • Old English: rodor
  • Old Prussian: dāngs
  • Polish: niebo, niebiosa
  • Portuguese: céu
  • Russian: небеса, небо
  • Serbian:
    Cyrillic: небеса n p
    Roman: nebesa n p
  • Slovene: nebesa
  • Spanish: cielos
  • Swedish: himmel
  • Urdu: (āsmān) , (ākāš)
  • Vietnamese: thiên đường

Verb

  1. to hit or throw (a ball) extremely high

Danish

Adjective

sky
  1. shy

Synonyms

Noun

sky
  1. cloud
  2. gravy, stock (a kind of soup)
  3. jelly (made of gravy)

Verb

sky
  1. To shun

Norwegian

Adjective

  1. shy

Synonyms

Noun

  1. cloud
  2. sky

Verb

  1. To despise.

Scots

Etymology

From Old Norse ský.

Noun

sco-noun 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

Swedish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Cf. English sky.

Noun

sky (p skyar, def sing skyn, def pl skyarna)
  1. heaven
  2. sky

Etymology 2

Corrupted from the French jus.

Noun

sky
  1. In the context of "uncountable|cooking|lang=sv": The liquid that remains in a frying pan after the fried meat is ready.

Etymology 3

?

Verb

sky
  1. avoid due to fear or disgust, shun

Extensive Definition

The sky is the part of the atmosphere or of outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight the sky of Earth has the appearance of a deep blue surface, as the result of the air's scattering of ions. The sky is sometimes defined as the denser gaseous zone of a planet's atmosphere. At night the sky has the appearance of a black surface or region scattered with stars.
During the day the sun can be seen in the sky, unless covered by clouds. In the night sky (and to some extent during the day) the moon, stars and planets are visible in the sky. Some of the phenomena seen in the sky are rainbows and aurorae. Rain and precipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms. On Earth, planes, insects, other aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. As a result of human activities, pollution during the day and lights during the night are sometimes seen in large cities (see also light pollution).
In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is an imaginary dome where the sun, stars, planets, and the moon are seen to be travelling. The celestial sphere is divided into regions called constellations.
See skies of other planets for descriptions of the skies of various planets and moons in the solar system.

Sky luminance and colors

The light from the sky is a result of the scattering of sunlight, which results in a light blue color perceived by the human eye. On a sunny day Rayleigh Scattering gives the sky a blue gradient — dark in the zenith, light near the horizon. Light that comes in from overhead encounters an air mass 1/38th of the mass that of a sunbeam coming along a horizon paths. So, fewer particles scatter the zenith sunbeam, and, therefore the light remains a darker blue.
The sky can turn a multitude of colors such as red, orange and yellow (especially near sunset or sunrise) and black at night. Scattering effects also partially polarize light from the sky.
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 sky to overcast.

Dark Skies

Dark Skies is the name usually given to the campaign to reduce and eventually eliminate light pollution from as much of the planet as possible. The campaign is led by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) and supported by organizations in many countries such as The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand - RASNZ and Dark Sky Taonga. Light pollution is defined by the IDA as; "Any adverse effect of artificial light including sky glow, glare, light trespass, light clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste.

See also

References

External links

sky in Bulgarian: Небе
sky in Danish: Himmel
sky in German: Himmel (planetär)
sky in Modern Greek (1453-): Ουρανός
sky in Spanish: Cielo
sky in Esperanto: Ĉielo
sky in French: Ciel
sky in Galician: Ceo
sky in Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃
sky in Korean: 하늘
sky in Italian: Cielo
sky in Hebrew: שמים
sky in Georgian: ცა
sky in Lithuanian: Dangus
sky in Lingala: Lóla
sky in Malay (macrolanguage): Langit
sky in Dutch: Hemelgewelf
sky in Japanese: 空
sky in Narom: Cyil
sky in Occitan (post 1500): Cèu
sky in Uzbek: Osmon
sky in Portuguese: Céu
sky in Russian: Небо
sky in Simple English: Sky
sky in Slovenian: Nebo
sky in Finnish: Taivas
sky in Thai: ท้องฟ้า
sky in Cherokee: ᎦᎷᎾᏗ
sky in Yiddish: הימל
sky in Contenese: 天
sky in Samogitian: Dongus
sky in Chinese: 天空

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

Caelus, Olympian heights, acme, aerial heights, air, apex, apogee, azure, blue sky, brow, caelum, canopy, canopy of heaven, cap, cerulean, climax, cloud nine, cope, crest, crown, culmen, culmination, dizzy heights, edge, elevation, eminence, empyrean, ether, extreme limit, extremity, firmament, heaven, heavens, height, heights, high noon, highest pitch, highest point, hyaline, lift, lifts, limit, maximum, meridian, mountaintop, ne plus ultra, no place higher, noon, peak, pinnacle, pitch, point, pole, raise, ridge, rise, rising ground, seventh heaven, spire, starry heaven, steep, stratosphere, summit, the blue, the blue serene, tip, tip-top, top, upmost, upper extremity, uppermost, uprise, utmost, vantage ground, vantage point, vault, vault of heaven, vertex, very top, welkin, zenith
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