celestial

English

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celestial

Wikipedia

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

• IPA^(key): /səˈlɛs.t͡ʃəl/, /səˈlɛs.ti.əl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ce‧les‧tial

Adjective

celestial (not comparable)

1. 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: 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: , 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

3. 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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     The twelve celestial signs.

4. (Mormonism) Of or pertaining to the highest degree of glory.
   • 1974 February, “A Sure Trumpet Sound: Quotations from President Lee”, in Ensign‎, 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, 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?

5. Extremely good, pleasant, or blissful; heavenly.
   • 1974 July 16, Cecil Adams, “The Straight Dope”, in Chicago Reader‎:

     [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

• (Relating to the sky): heavenly; celest (obsolete)

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

celestial (plural celestials)

1. An inhabitant of heaven.
   • 1913, Horace Coffin Stanton, Telepathy of the Celestial World‎, page x:

     For the celestials communicate by the psychic dispatch. Scriptures prove that.

2. (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, page 23:

     Three celestials died during the voyage, and, in accordance with the contract, their remains were embalmed and carried on to China.

3. (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

• cistellae

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)

1. celestial

Related terms

• ceo

Old Occitan

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin caelestialis, from Latin caelestis.

Adjective

celestial m or f (plural celestials)

1. celestial

Related terms

• cel

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)

1. (religion) heavenly (relating to heaven)

   Synonym: celeste

Coordinate terms

• (heavenly): infernal, terreno

Related terms

• celeste
• céu

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin caelestiālis, from Latin caelestis, based on caelum (“sky, heaven”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θelesˈtjal/
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /selesˈtjal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ce‧les‧tial

Adjective

celestial m or f (masculine and feminine plural celestiales)

1. celestial

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “celestial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014