welkin
noun·/ˈwɛl.kɪn/
The sky, especially as a lofty vault. The heavens as an old, resonant backdrop to weather and wonder. Welkin sounds like distance, blue made mythic.
Thunder rolled across the welkin, and the fields listened like a congregation.
Etymology
From Old English wolcen “cloud; sky,” related to Germanic words for cloud. The word drifted from “cloud” to “heaven” as poetry lifted it.
Related Words
firmamentthe sky as structure; close kin
empyreanthe highest heaven; more theological
azurethe color often implied
vaultthe metaphor welkin invites