1630年代， atmosphaera（現代形式來自1670年代），意爲“地球周圍的氣態包層”，源自現代拉丁語 atmosphaera，來自於希臘語 atmos 的“蒸汽，水汽”（參見 atmo-）以及 sphaira 的“球”（參見 sphere）。在舊時期的科學中，“蒸氣空氣”，被認爲是地球的一部分，而且是下半部分 air （名詞1）的污染物。
Þe ouer partye of þe eyr is pure and clene, clere, esy & softe, ffor mevynge of stormys, of wynde and of wedir may nat reche þerto; and so it perteyneþ to heuenlych kynde. And þe neþir partye is nyʒe to þe spere of watir and of erþe, and is troubly, greet and þicke, corpulent and ful of moyst erþy vapoures, as longiþ to erþy partyes. Þe eyr strecchiþ hym kyndely al aboute fro þe ouer partye of þe erþe and of watir anon to þe spere of fire. [Bartholomew Glanville, "De proprietatibus rerum," c. 1240, translated by John of Trevisa c. 1398 ]
空氣的上層是純淨、乾淨、清晰、柔和的，暴風雨、風和天氣的運動不會到達那裏； 因此屬於天國的性質。空氣的下層靠近水和土之球，是混亂的，巨大的，厚實的、肥厚的，充滿溼潤的土壤蒸汽，屬於地球層。空氣從地球和水的上部自然而然地伸展開來，一直延伸到火球之間。 [Bartholomew Glanville，《"De proprietatibus rerum,"》，約1240年，由 John of Trevisa 翻譯於約1398年]
首次用於與月球有關，後來被證實，月球實際上幾乎沒有。
'Tis Observed, in the Solary Eclipses, that there is some times a great Trepidation about the Body of the Moon, from which we may likewise argue an Atmo-sphaera, since we cannot well conceive what so probable a cause there should be of such an appearance as this, Quod radii Solares a vaporibus Lunam ambientibus fuerint intercisi, that the Sun-beams were broken and refracted by the Vapours that encompassed the Moon. [Rev. John Wilkins, "Discovery of New World or Discourse tending to prove that it probable there may be another World in the Moon," 1638]
在太陽食發生時被觀察到，月球的身體有時會有很大的顫動，此時我們可以通過“大氣層”來推斷一個可能的結論，因爲我們很難想象會有一個更可能的原因來解釋這種出現的情況，即，太陽的光線被包圍月球的水汽折射。[約翰·威爾金斯牧師，《Quod radii Solares a vaporibus Lunam ambientibus fuerint intercisi》，“新世界的發現或論文趨勢證明可能會在月球上有另一個世界”，1638年]
“環繞影響力，心理或道德環境”的比喻意義始於大約1800年。
