# heaven

Pronunciation: say "HEV-uhn" /ˈhɛvən/

## Noun

1. In many religions, the place where God or the gods live and where the good go after death, as opposed to hell.
   - Simple: In many religions, the place where God or the gods live and where good people go after they die.
   - _Just as the Greeks set their gods on Olympus, many cultures imagine a heaven where the divine resides._
   - _She took comfort in believing that her father was now at peace in heaven._
2. A place, situation, or feeling of perfect happiness or delight, sometimes one suited to a particular kind of person.
   - Simple: A place or feeling that is wonderful and makes you very happy.
   - _Sinking into a hot bath after a brutal week felt like heaven._
   - _For a book lover, the old library was absolute heaven._
3. The sky, where the sun, moon, stars, clouds, and weather are seen; often plural, as in 'the heavens'. *(literary)*
   - Simple: The sky above the earth, often called 'the heavens'.
   - _Dark clouds rolled in, and then the heavens opened over the stadium._
   - _Early astronomers spent their nights mapping the stars across the heavens._
4. Providence; the will of God or the collective decision of the gods; fate as determined by divine powers.
   - Simple: The will of God, or what the gods have decided about a person's fate.
   - _He trusted that heaven would set things right in the end._
   - _The general claimed heaven itself favored his cause._
9. Used in exclamations that show surprise, irritation, relief or emphasis, frequently in place of God.
   - Simple: Used in short cries like "Thank heaven!" to show surprise, annoyance, relief or strong feeling, often instead of God.
   - _Heaven knows how she managed to raise four kids on one paycheck._
   - _For heaven's sake, will you stop tapping that pen?_

## Verb

5. To delight, enchant, or please someone greatly, filling them with a sense of bliss. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To fill someone with great delight, joy, or wonder.
6. To carry or transport someone to the abode of God, the gods, or the blessed dead. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To carry someone up to the home of God or the blessed dead.
7. To beautify a place or thing, transforming it into something like a paradise. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a place beautiful, like a paradise.

## Noun

8. A mechanical model that displays the movement of the celestial bodies; an orrery. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A moving model that shows how the planets and stars travel around.

## Origin

From Middle English hevene and heven, from Old English heofon ("heaven, sky"), from Proto-West Germanic *hebn, of uncertain origin. It is related to forms like Middle Dutch heven and Low German Heven, and some scholars link it further to Proto-Germanic *himinaz ("cover, sky, heaven").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heaven (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).