skyline

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the outline of buildings, mountains, or other objects seen against the sky

   The cathedral tower still dominates the city's skyline.

2. 2
   noun

   the apparent line where the sky meets the land or water; the horizon

   A ship appeared on the skyline just before sunset.

A compound of sky + line, attested from the early nineteenth century for the horizon or the boundary where the sky appears to meet the earth or objects upon it. The familiar urban sense developed from this idea of a visible outline.

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