Other forms: atmospheres
The atmosphere is the blanket of gas held around a world. The earth's atmosphere, enter the atmosphere, a thin atmosphere.
It has no clear top — it thins out gradually, and the line drawn at a hundred kilometres is a convention rather than a boundary. Figuratively an atmosphere is the mood of a place, which is much the commoner use. Note that the Greek means vapour sphere, from atmos, steam.
1nounatmosphereThe blanket of gas held around a world.
“Most meteors burn up when they enter the Earth's atmosphere.”
2nounmoodThe mood of a place.
“The little restaurant has a warm, friendly atmosphere.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
atmosphere is a layer of gas, or a mood.
New Latin atmosphaera is Greek atmos, vapour, plus sphaira, a sphere. Sphere and hemisphere come from the same ball.
Ancient Greek
ἀτμός — steam
New Latin
atmosphaera
French
atmosphère
English, today
atmosphere
Built from
French atmosphère, from New Latin atmosphaera, from Ancient Greek ἀτμός (“steam”) + σφαῖρα (“sphere”); corresponding to atmo- + -sphere.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA