heofon

Middle English

Proper noun

heofon

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of hevene

Noun

heofon

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of hevene

Old English

Alternative forms

• hefæn, heben, hefon, heafun, heofen, heofun, heofan, hiofon
• heofene, heofone — weak

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hebn. Probably related to both Proto-West Germanic *himil and Proto-Germanic *himinaz, but the origins of the relationship are mysterious.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxe͜o.fon/,

Noun

heofon m or f

1. sky

   Eall þā lēaf sind brūn, and sē heofon grǣġ.

   All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Sē heofon bringþ lēohte dagas and eft behileþ þæt lēoht mid þīestrum.

     The sky brings bright days and then hides the light with darkness.

2. heaven

Usage notes

• Heofon is consistently strong and masculine in early Old English (up to c. 950), but in late Old English it is usually feminine, often as weak heofone.

• The meaning heaven, like certain locations or abstract concepts, does not use the definite article. The meaning sky uses the definite article most of the time when singular, though there are a fair number of apparently interchangeable exceptions.

• There is some overlap between the usage of this word and lyft (“air, sky”). See there for more.

Declension

masculine

feminine

Derived terms

• heofonlīċ
• heofonrīċe
• heofontungol
• heofonwolcen

Descendants

• Middle English: hevene, efne, even, evne, heaven, hefne, heoven, heovene, heven, hevyn, hewn, hewne; hæfene, hæfne, hæven, heffne, heofen, heofne, heofon, hoven; heeven, hefen, heiven, heivin, hevin, hewuyn, heyven, hewen, hewyn
  • English: heaven, Heaven
  • Scots: heiven, Heiven
  • Yola: heaaven, heoven