Word journey
The word heaven
the sky; the dwelling of God
The journey
| Form | Language | Date | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| *himinaz | Proto-Germanic (reconstructed) | undated | cover, firmament, sky; reconstructed |
| *hebun | Proto-West Germanic (reconstructed) | undated | heaven, sky; reconstructed (dissimilated form) |
| himins | Gothic · Christianity | 360 CE | heaven, sky |
| heofon | Old English | 725 CE | sky, firmament (Beowulf) |
| heofon | Old English · Christianity | 1000 CE | the place where God dwells |
| heven | Middle English · Christianity | 1159 CE | heaven |
What is certain and what is not
The deeper origin is uncertain: links to PIE *kem- "cover" or *h2ekmo "stone, vault of heaven" (Sanskrit asman) are both proposed. The Old English and Norse forms with -n and the German forms with -l (Himmel) are thought to be variants of one Germanic word.