Word.ws English Dictionary

welkin

Syllables: wel·kin/ˈwɛlkɪn/US/ˈwɛlkən/

welkin noun: the sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament.

Noun

welkin (plural welkins)

  1. (also Lancashire) The sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament.
    • He leaues the vvelkin vvay moſt beaten playne, / And rapt with vvhirling vvheeles, inflames the ſkyen, / With fire not made to burne, but fayrely for to ſhyne.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 9, page 47
    • The ſkye it ſeemes vvould povvre dovvn ſtinking pitch, / But that the Sea, mounting to th' vvelkins cheeke, / Daſhes the fire out.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
    Synonyms:
    ether, heavens, lift
  2. The upper atmosphere occupied by clouds, flying birds, etc.
    • [W]ho you are, and vvhat you vvould are out of my vvelkin, I might ſay Element, but the word is ouer-vvorne.c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • Rhotus was going on when day appear'd, / And with its light the cloudy welkin clear'd.1683, John Chalkhill, “Part I”, in [Izaak Walton], editor, Thealma and Clearchus. […], London: […] Benj[amin] Tooke, […], →OCLC, page 48
  3. The place above the Earth where God or other deities live; heaven.
    • [T]his villanous Poetry vvill vndoe you, by the VVelkin.1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act V
    • Hovv glittereth novv this place of great requeſt, / Like to the ſeat of heavenly vvelkin hie?1610, William Camden, “Kent”, in Philémon Holland, transl., Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London: […] [Eliot’s...

welkin meaning in Urdu, Bengali, Sanskrit and Arabic

welkin in Urdu

آفاق, آسمان

welkin in Bengali

sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible — see also firmament, sky
আশমান aśman

welkin in Sanskrit

sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible — see also firmament, sky
अम्बर ambara

welkin in Arabic

sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible — see also firmament, sky
سَمَاء samāʔ

Examples of welkin in a sentence

  • I knowe more then Apollo, / For oft when hee ly’s sleeping / I see yͤ starrs att bloudie warres / In yͤ wounded welkin weeping, […]c. 1620, [anonymous], “Poems from Songbooks and Miscellanies before 1660 [Tom o’ Bedlam]”, in R[obert] C[ecil] Bald, editor...
  • I've seen the moving stars / Shoot rapidly athwart the sombre sky, / Red fiery meteors in the welkin blaze, / And sheeted lightnings gleam, but ne'er before / Saw I a sight like this.1802, Joanna Baillie, “Ethwald: A Tragedy, in Five Acts. Part Second.”, in A Series of Plays: In which It is Attempted to Delineate the...
  • So wide and so far his ravage they knew, / If a sail but gleam'd white 'gainst the welkin blue, / Trumpet and bugle to arms did call, / Burghers hasten'd to man the wall, […]1817, [Walter Scott], “Canto First”, in Harold the Dauntless; […], Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme...
  • Which, by the welkin and its stars, you would not be slow in avenging, Master Christian.1822, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume IV, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...

Synonyms of welkin

Forms of welkin

pluralwelkins

Origin of welkin

Inherited from Middle English welkne (“weather; heavens; (earlier) cloud”), from Old English wolcnu (“sky, heavens”), plural form of wolcn (“cloud”), from Proto-West Germanic *wolkn (“cloud”), from Proto-Germanic *wulkną (“cloud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥ɡ-no-m, from *welg- (“damp; wet”). Cognate with Dutch wolk (“cloud”), German Wolke (“cloud”).

Words formed from welkin

Phrases with welkin

Questions about welkin

What does welkin mean?
Welkin means the sky which appears to an observer on the Earth as a dome in which celestial bodies are visible; the firmament.
What is welkin in Urdu?
Welkin in Urdu is آفاق, آسمان. See Welkin meaning in Urdu.
How do you use welkin in a sentence?
I knowe more then Apollo, / For oft when hee ly’s sleeping / I see yͤ starrs att bloudie warres / In yͤ wounded welkin weeping, […]
What part of speech is welkin?
Welkin is a noun.
How do you pronounce welkin?
Welkin is pronounced /ˈwɛlkɪn/ (UK).
What is the plural of welkin?
The plural of welkin is welkins.

Words near welkin in the dictionary

  1. Welke
  2. welked
  3. Welker
  4. Welkers
  5. Welkes
  6. welkin
  7. welking
  8. welkins
  9. Welkom
  10. welks
  11. welkt

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: welkin (page history and authors); welkin (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-welkin.wav.

Cite this entry: “welkin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/welkin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.