welkin: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for December 25 is:

welkin \WEL-kun\ noun
*1 a : the vault of the sky : firmament b : the celestial abode of God or the gods
: heaven
2 : the upper atmosphere

Example sentence:
The pink sky at sunset brought to mind a quote from Shakespeare's _King John_: "The sun of heaven, methought, was loath to set / But stay'd and made the western welkin blush."

Did you know?
When it comes to "welkin," the sky's the limit. This heavenly word has been used in English to refer to the vault of the sky since at least the 12th century, and it derives from an earlier word from Old English that meant "cloud." In modern English, "welkin" is still flying high, and it is often teamed with the verb "ring" to suggest a loud noise or an exuberant expression of emotion, as in "the welkin rang with the sound of the orchestra" or "her hearty laugh made the welkin ring." These contemporary phrases echo an older use -- the original words of a carol that once began "Hark, how all the welkin ring," which we now know as "Hark! The herald angels sing."

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