Etymologically
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atmosphere

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈæt.məs.fɪə/, US /ˈæt.məs.fɪr/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin atmosphaera,[2][3][4] used by Bishop John Wilkins in 1638 in his book on the Moon,[5] perhaps also influenced by French atmosphère (1665).[5] The New Latin word is from Greek Ancient Greek ἀτμός (atmós, “vapour, steam”) and Ancient Greek σφαῖρα (sphaîra, “ball, globe”).[2][6] It is related to sphere.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The gaseous envelope around the Earth or another heavenly body: 1638 in the OED and MWU, the 1630s in Etymonline.[7][3][2] The Latin-shaped form atmosphaera came first, and the modern form is from the 1670s (1677 in Barnhart).[2][5] It was first used in English of the Moon, which has almost none.[2]

Semantic evolution

According to the OED, as summarized by Barnhart, it first meant a ring of vapour supposed to be exhaled by a planet, then the air close to it, and finally all the surrounding air.[5] A magnetic atmosphere, the sphere in which a magnet attracts, is from 1668,[7] and the air of a particular place from 1767.[7] The figurative sense, a surrounding mental or moral element or mood, is from 1797–1803.[7][5] As a unit of pressure it is from 1830,[7] and background sounds that set a mood, as in radio or film, from 1941.[7]

Timeline

  • 1638 – the air around the Earth.[7][3]
  • 1677 – the modern form.[5]
  • 1767 – the air of a place.[7]
  • 1797–1803 – figurative, surrounding influence.[7][5]
  • 1830 – a unit of pressure.[7]
  • 1941 – background sounds.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The layer of gases around the Earth or another planet.
  2. The air in a particular place.
  3. The general feeling or mood of a place or situation.
  4. (physics) A unit of pressure equal to normal air pressure at sea level.

Word family

  • atmosphered
  • atmosphereless
  • upper atmosphere
  • atmospheric
  • atmospherics
  • sphere

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press