Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The sky or universe as seen from the earth; the firmament.
  • noun The abode of God, the angels, and the souls of those who are granted salvation.
  • noun An eternal state of communion with God; everlasting bliss.
  • noun Any of the places in or beyond the sky conceived of as domains of divine beings in various religions.
  • noun God.
  • noun Used in various phrases to express surprise.
  • noun The celestial powers; the gods.
  • noun A condition or place of great happiness, delight, or pleasure.
  • idiom (move heaven and earth) To do everything possible to bring about something desired.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To place in or as if in heaven; make supremely happy or blessed; beatify.
  • noun The expanse of space surrounding the earth, and appearing above and around us as a great arch or vault, in which the sun, moon, and stars seem to be set; the sky; the firmament; the celestial regions: often used in the plural.
  • noun Sky as typical of climate; a zone or region.
  • noun The celestial abode of immortal beings; the place or state of existence of blessed spirits beyond the sphere of or after departure from the earthly life.
  • noun [capitalized] The Supreme Being; God; Providence.
  • noun plural The celestial powers; heavenly beings.
  • noun Supreme exaltation or felicity; consummate happiness; a state of bliss.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The expanse of space surrounding the earth; esp., that which seems to be over the earth like a great arch or dome; the firmament; the sky; the place where the sun, moon, and stars appear; -- often used in the plural in this sense.
  • noun The dwelling place of the Deity; the abode of bliss; the place or state of the blessed after death.
  • noun The sovereign of heaven; God; also, the assembly of the blessed, collectively; -- used variously in this sense, as in No. 2..
  • noun Any place of supreme happiness or great comfort; perfect felicity; bliss; a sublime or exalted condition.
  • transitive verb rare To place in happiness or bliss, as if in heaven; to beatify.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun often in the plural The sky.
  • noun theology The paradise of the afterlife in certain religions, considered to be the home of the god or gods of those religions, and often the home, or one of various possible homes, of souls of deceased people.
  • noun A blissful place or experience.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the abode of God and the angels
  • noun any place of complete bliss and delight and peace

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English heven, from Old English heofon; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English heven, from Old English heofon ("heaven, sky"), from Proto-Germanic *himinaz, *himilaz (“heaven, sky”), from Proto-Indo-European *k(')em-en-, *k(')em-er- (“sky, cloud”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱam- (“cover, shroud, clothes”). Cognate with Low German Heven ("heaven, sky"), Old Saxon heƀan ("heaven, sky"), Old Norse hifinn, himinn ("heaven, sky"), Gothic  (himins, "heaven, sky"), Dutch hemel ("heaven"), German Himmel ("heaven"), and perhaps Welsh cwmwl ("cloud"), Cornish kommol ("cloud"), Breton koumoul ("cloud") – unless all these three reflect a borrowing of Latin cumulus ("heap") into Proto-British instead, compare Modern English cumulus ("a type of cloud"). Related to chemise.

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Examples

  • "_Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven_."

    Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known Characters George Milligan

  • "And ascended into heaven" -- this passage shows the belief that He returned to the place from which He came, for the Nicene Creed has stated that he "_came down from heaven_ and was incarnate ... and was made man."

    Mystic Christianity William Walker Atkinson 1897

  • The holy city is not heaven; it came down from God _out of heaven_.

    The Arena Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 Various 1888

  • But whether she told of the grumbler who could find nothing to complain of in heaven except that "his halo didn't fit," or said in her quick way, when the plainness of a lady's dress was commended, "Why, I didn't suppose that anybody could go _to heaven_ now-a-days without an overskirt," or wrote her sparkling impromptu rhymes for our children's games, her mirth was all in harmony with her earnest life.

    The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss George L. Prentiss 1859

  • In answer to a question which I put to her later, about her view of heaven and of the relation of the saints in glory to their old friends there and here, she replied, in substance, that to her view _heaven is being with Christ and to be with Christ is heaven_.

    The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss George L. Prentiss 1859

  • “Though heaven should speak with all _his_ wrath at once”, and proceeds, “_heaven_ is ill syntax with _his_”; while in fact up to within forty or fifty years of the time when Dryden began to write, no other syntax was known; and to a much later date was exceedingly rare.

    English Past and Present Richard Chenevix Trench 1846

  • Because the action of depraved (disordered) faculties and powers, would not, even in heaven itself, be conformed to the divine law, and _could not be acceptable to God_ In our natural state, moreover, we have not the _qualifications requisite for the enjoyment of heaven_, having no spiritual appetites.

    American Lutheranism Vindicated; or, Examination of the Lutheran Symbols, on Certain Disputed Topics Including a Reply to the Plea of Rev. W. J. Mann 1836

  • Lidat at most he let you spend 10 sec on heaven, aftr that he banish you to hell jesus say he will never turn away from his followers wor ... just need to follow him can liao chiu see those murderers, they confess liao, then they say they sorry, also can go to heaven~ but with devils like these, who needs heaven~

    www.hardwarezone.com.sg osakafanz 2010

  • Lidat at most he let you spend 10 sec on heaven, aftr that he banish you to hell jesus say he will never turn away from his followers wor ... just need to follow him can liao chiu see those murderers, they confess liao, then they say they sorry, also can go to heaven~ but with devils like these, who needs heaven~

    www.hardwarezone.com.sg osakafanz 2010

  • * youll be in heaven and happy while you stand with God ate the gated of heaven*

    jeffmilner.com 2008

Comments

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  • 'My soul can find no staircase to heaven unless it be through earth's lovliness.' -Michelangelo

    February 18, 2008

  • "I'm pretty sure there will be duck-hunting in heaven and I can't wait!" - Mike Huckabee

    October 17, 2008

  • Maybe that's why all dogs go to heaven.

    October 17, 2008

  • Friedrich Nietzsche: 'In heaven all the interesting people are missing.'

    March 1, 2009

  • HeAVEN

    March 23, 2011

  • April 20, 2011

  • Haha!

    April 21, 2011