Etymologically
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skyline

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈskaɪˌlaɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English sky + line.[2][3][4] The OED's first record is from 1815,[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date it to 1824,[3][5] and Dictionary.com to 1855–60.[4] Etymonline notes that it was also written sky-line.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The line where the earth or the landscape seems to meet the sky; the horizon: 1815, in the Caledonian Mercury.[2] The OED also includes the representation of such a line in a painting or drawing,[2] and Etymonline notes that the word was at first often used of paintings.[3]

Semantic evolution

From the horizon itself, the word passed to the outline of what stands against it: from 1875 it is recorded for the silhouette of a city or of a group of buildings against the sky, first in a New York newspaper.[2] Merriam-Webster gives both the horizon and the outline of buildings or a mountain range.[5][6] A rare colloquial use for the line of the top row of pictures in an exhibition is recorded only in 1911.[2] In forestry, from 1915, a skyline is a high overhead cable used to carry logs from a logging site.[2][5] The verb followed: from 1872 in the passive, to be bordered by mountains or buildings on the horizon, then from 1895 to be seen outlined against the sky.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1815 – the horizon; first in the Caledonian Mercury.[2]
  • 1824 – the horizon, the date in Etymonline and Merriam-Webster.[3][5]
  • 1872 – verb, to be bordered by mountains or buildings on the horizon.[2]
  • 1875 – the outline of a city or of buildings against the sky.[2]
  • 1895 – verb, to be silhouetted against the sky.[2]
  • 1911 – the line of the top row of pictures in an exhibition (rare, obsolete).[2]
  • 1915 – forestry, a high overhead cable for moving logs.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The outline of buildings, mountains or trees seen against the sky: The city's skyline is dominated by two towers.[7][5][2]
  2. The line where the earth and the sky seem to meet; the horizon.[7][5][2]
  3. (forestry) A high overhead cable stretched between two points, used to carry logs.[5][2]

Verb

  1. To outline something against the sky; to be silhouetted against it: The riders were skylined on the ridge.[5][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins