Emily Dickinson Lexicon

air (-s), n. [OFr air < L. < Gk 'to breathe', 'blow'; NW gives a related Semitic root meaning “to shine.”] (webplay: abroad, appearance, atmosphere, breathe, colorless, current, different, distance, dry, earth, exhibit, fair, flight, foul, gravity, gay, good, graceful, high, hope, inodorous, invisible, length, life, light, liquors, looks, morning, notes, open, person, possessed, pride, public, rarefied, ride, show, soft, solidity, song, specific, substance, tune, uncertain, utterance, variety, walk, warm, water, weight, wind, words).

1. Liberty; freedom.
2. Smoke.
3. Sky; space above the earth and sea.
4. Ambience; season; weather period; time of year; atmosphere of a certain place or time.
5. Void; empty space.
6. Attitude; appearance; assumed social position.
7. Heavens; home on high.
8. Oxygen; life-giving substance that humans and animals breath.
9. Wind; breeze; clouds; atmospheric currents.
10. Medium that transports intangible elements; [fig.] feelings; ideas.
11. Medium that transports sound; atmosphere as a vehicle for sound waves.
12. Atmosphere; one of the four basic elements; invisible, odorless, colorless substance which surrounds the earth.
13. Phrase. “In the air”: potential; hypothetical; imaginary.