heavenriche

• heaven-ric
• heavenric

From Old English heofonrīce, equivalent to heaven +‎ ric (“kingdom, realm, rule”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛvənriːtʃə/

heavenriche (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) The kingdom of heaven; heaven.
   • 2012, Phil Cousineau, Painted Word: A Treasure Chest of Remarkable Words and Their Origins‎^[1], Viva Editions, →ISBN, page 395:

     The poet Samuel Coleridge used heavenriche to describe the sky, the place where nimbification or cloud-forming occurs.

   • 1892, Albert Stanburrough Cook, editor, The Bible and English Prose: Style Selections and Comments, D. C. Heath:

     This word is contained in the first line of Cæd- mon's Hymn, and in its ancient spelling appears as hefaenricaes. What is the meaning of hefaenricaes? In modern English it would appear as heavenric's, the possessive of heavenric, a word which would be akin in formation to bishopric.

   • 1838, Edwin Guest, A History of English Rhythms Vol. II, page 331:

     For, at the end, it taketh away the joy of heaven-ric.

   • 1955, Joseph T. Shipley, Dictionary of Early English‎^[2], Philosophical Library, →ISBN, page 326:

     heavenric. The kingdom of heaven; heaven as the abode of the blessed. Anglo-Saxon heofona rice, kingdom of the heavens. (German Reich, kingdom.) Also heavenrich, heovenryke. Used into the 15th century. In THE LAND OF COCKAYNE (13th century) heavenriche is used for the sky.

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “heavenriche”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
• The Bible and English Prose Style
• Dictionary of Early English