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in excelsis. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
in excelsis, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in excelsis in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
in excelsis you have here. The definition of the word
in excelsis will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
in excelsis, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin in excelsīs (“on high, in the highest”), as in the Gloria.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌɪn ɪkˈsɛlsɪs/, /ˌɪn ɛksˈt͡ʃɛlsɪs/
Adjective
in excelsis (not comparable)
- (postpositive) To the highest degree; archetypal, quintessential.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:to the full
1916, E. F. Benson, Michael: it was impossible to believe that one mind directed the singer and another the pianist, and if the voice was an example of art in excelsis, not less exalted was the perfection of the player.
2018 October 25, James Parker, “R.E.M., in Retrospect”, in The Atlantic:Then it’s early R.E.M. in excelsis: seething momentum, cascading guitar arpeggios, power-pop punch in the arrangements, and words that have the intermittent uncanny lucidity of sleep talk (“These rivers of suggestion are driving me away”).
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:in excelsis.
Further reading