Skye

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The largest island in the Inner Hebrides, lying off the northwest coast of Scotland and known for its mountains and dramatic coastline
2. A mountainous island in the Inner Hebrides group on the west coast of Scotland, famous for its rugged landscape and scenic cliffs
3. An island of the Inner Hebrides off Scotland's northwestern shore, celebrated for jagged peaks and a remote, windswept character

Etymology: Off Scotland's west coast lies Skye, whose name is generally linked to a Norse word for cloud, probably a reference to the island's frequent mist. The exact form of that Norse root is not something I can confirm, so treat the cloud connection as the likely explanation rather than settled fact. The same cloud idea sits behind the common noun. Old English "sċēo" meant "cloud", and "sky" is cognate with it, so the sky was first the cloud-covered expanse above. Before the spelling "sky" settled, writers also used "skye", the form that now names the island. Old English "heofon" did not vanish, and survives in "heaven".