DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 fir·ma·ment /ˈfɝməmənt/
 天空,蒼天

 Fir·ma·ment n.
 1. Fixed foundation; established basis. [Obs.]
    Custom is the . . . firmament of the law.   --Jer. Taylor.
 2. The region of the air; the sky or heavens.
    And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.   --Gen. i. 6.
    And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament.   --Gen. i. 14.
 Note: ☞ In Scripture, the word denotes an expanse, a wide extent; the great arch or expanse over out heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds, and in which the stars appear to be placed, and are really seen.
 3. Old Astron. The orb of the fixed stars; the most remote of the celestial spheres.
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 firmament
      n : the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which
          celestial bodies appear to be projected [syn: celestial
          sphere, sphere, empyrean, heavens, vault of
          heaven, welkin]

 Firmament
    from the Vulgate firmamentum, which is used as the translation
    of the Hebrew _raki'a_. This word means simply "expansion." It
    denotes the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately
    above us. They who rendered _raki'a_ by firmamentum regarded it
    as a solid body. The language of Scripture is not scientific but
    popular, and hence we read of the sun rising and setting, and
    also here the use of this particular word. It is plain that it
    was used to denote solidity as well as expansion. It formed a
    division between the waters above and the waters below (Gen.
    1:7). The _raki'a_ supported the upper reservoir (Ps. 148:4). It
    was the support also of the heavenly bodies (Gen. 1:14), and is
    spoken of as having "windows" and "doors" (Gen. 7:11; Isa.
    24:18; Mal. 3:10) through which the rain and snow might descend.