celestial
English
Alternative forms
- cælestial (archaic), cælestiall (obsolete), celestiall (obsolete), cœlestial (archaic, nonstandard)
- Celestial (native of China)
Etymology
From Middle English celestial, from Old French celestial, from Medieval Latin caelestialis, from Latin caelestis, from caelum (“sky, heaven”).
The meanings related to East Asia come from Celestial Empire, a former name of China.
Pronunciation
Adjective
celestial (not comparable)
- Synonym of heavenly: of or related to Heaven and the divine.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
- Thus ſhall my heart be ſtil combinde with thine,
Untill our bodies turne to Elements:
And both our ſoules aſpire celeſtiall thrones.
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
- But far above, in spangled sheen,
Celestial Cupid her famed son advanced
- Relating to the sky or outer space, regarded as the realm of the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
- The twelve celestial signs.
- (Mormonism) Of or pertaining to the highest degree of glory.
- 1974 February, “A Sure Trumpet Sound: Quotations from President Lee”, in Ensign[1], page 77:
- We are now living and obeying celestial laws that will make us candidates for celestial glory.
- 1997 November, Richard J. Maynes, “A Celestial Connection to Your Teenage Years”, in Ensign[2], page 30:
- How will you make it through your teenage years spiritually prepared for your celestial future? How will you connect your celestial goals with your everyday life?
- Extremely good, pleasant, or blissful; heavenly.
- 1974 July 16, Cecil Adams, “The Straight Dope”, in Chicago Reader[3]:
- [Reader:] A really bad coconut is soooo yukky. But a really good coconut is so celestial. [...] If you can hear the milk sloshing inside, odds are you’ve got a celestial coconut rather than a yukky one.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- celestial blue
- celestial body
- celestial crown
- Celestial Empire
- celestial equator
- celestial globe
- celestial guidance
- celestial horizon
- celestial latitude
- celestial longitude
- celestial mechanics
- celestial navigation
- celestial object
- celestial peace
- celestial pole
- celestial sphere
- celestial stem
- celestial teapot
- celestial transfer
- supercelestial
Translations
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Noun
celestial (plural celestials)
- An inhabitant of heaven.
- 1913, Horace Coffin Stanton, Telepathy of the Celestial World[4], page x:
- For the celestials communicate by the psychic dispatch. Scriptures prove that.
- (obsolete, sometimes capitalized) A native of China.
- 1897, Joseph Llewelyn Thomas, “The North Pacific”, in Journeys Among the Gentle Japs in the Summer of 1895[5], page 23:
- Three celestials died during the voyage, and, in accordance with the contract, their remains were embalmed and carried on to China.
- (obsolete, slang) by extension, an East Asian person.
References
- “celestial”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “celestial”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
- Kingdoms of Glory on LDS.org.
Anagrams
Galician
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese celestial, borrowed from Medieval Latin caelestiālis (“celestial”), from Latin caelestis (“celestial”), from caelum (“sky”).
Adjective
celestial m or f (plural celestiais)
Related terms
Old Occitan
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin caelestialis, from Latin caelestis.
Adjective
celestial m or f (plural celestials)
Related terms
Portuguese
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese celestial, borrowed from Medieval Latin caelestiālis (“celestial”), from Latin caelestis (“celestial”), from caelum (“sky”).
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ce‧les‧ti‧al
Adjective
celestial m or f (plural celestiais)
Coordinate terms
Related terms
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin caelestiālis, from Latin caelestis, based on caelum (“sky, heaven”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /θelesˈtjal/ [θe.lesˈt̪jal]
- IPA(key): (Latin America) /selesˈtjal/ [se.lesˈt̪jal]
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: ce‧les‧tial
Adjective
celestial m or f (masculine and feminine plural celestiales)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “celestial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- en:Mormonism
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English slang
- English relational adjectives
- en:Astronomy
- Galician terms inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese
- Galician terms derived from Old Galician-Portuguese
- Galician terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Galician terms derived from Latin
- Galician lemmas
- Galician adjectives
- Old Occitan terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- Old Occitan terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Old Occitan terms derived from Latin
- Old Occitan lemmas
- Old Occitan adjectives
- Portuguese terms inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese
- Portuguese terms derived from Old Galician-Portuguese
- Portuguese terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- Portuguese terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Portuguese terms derived from Latin
- Portuguese 4-syllable words
- Portuguese 3-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese adjectives
- pt:Religion
- Portuguese terms suffixed with -ial
- Spanish terms borrowed from Medieval Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish 3-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/al
- Rhymes:Spanish/al/3 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish epicene adjectives