Skies
nounThe expanses of atmosphere and space seen overhead, especially in different places or conditions.
How to spell skies
5 letters · 1 syllable
How to pronounce skies
What does skies mean?
- nounThe expanses of atmosphere and space seen overhead, especially in different places or conditions.
Skies in a sentence
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Clear skies are forecast for the whole weekend.
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Travellers chase the sunny skies of southern Europe each winter.
Where does skies come from?
Language of origin: Old Norse
Skies is the plural of sky, a word English borrowed from Old Norse in the medieval period. The Norse word sky literally meant 'cloud', and that older sense survives in some northern English dialects even today. Norse-speaking settlers brought the term across, and over time English speakers shifted its meaning from the clouds themselves to the whole expanse of air and heavens above. The plural form follows the regular English rule for nouns ending in a consonant plus y: the y becomes i before adding -es, giving skies rather than skys. This same spelling pattern explains the trap, since the singular sky offers no hint of the i that appears in the plural.
How the word is built
- sky (the atmosphere/heavens)
- -es (plural, with y changing to i)
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