Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

celestial

/səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.53 in modern English

Syllables
ce-les-ti-al
IPA
/səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of, relating to, or located in the sky or outer space, where the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars are visible.

adj

Of a nose: upturned, as if towards the sky.

Archaic; Humorous

adj

Of or relating to China; Chinese.

Archaic; Humorous

adj

Of or relating to heaven as the place where deities (or the Christian God), spiritual beings, etc., exist; heavenly.

adj

Of or relating to heaven as the place where deities (or the Christian God), spiritual beings, etc., exist; heavenly.

adj

Of or relating to heaven as the place where deities (or the Christian God), spiritual beings, etc., exist; heavenly.

adv

Synonym of celestially (“in a celestial manner (adjective senses)”).

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂i-lom Proto-Italic *kailom? Latin caelum Latin terrestris Latin -estris Latin caelestis Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Medieval Latin caelestiālislbor. Old French celestialbor. Middle English celestial English celestial The adjective is derived from Late Middle English celestial (“relating to the heavens or sky; (Christianity) relating to heaven, divine, heavenly”), borrowed from Old French celestial (modern French céleste), from Medieval Latin caelestiālis (“celestial”), or directly from its etymon Latin caelestis (“of or in the heavens, heavenly; (figurative) of the gods, divine; etc.”), from caelum (“heaven; sky”) (ultimate etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilom (“whole”)) + -estris (suffix meaning ‘dwelling or located in’ forming adjectives from nouns). The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective. Adjective sense 2.2 (“of or relating to China”) and noun sense 3 (“native of China”) refer to Celestial Empire (a calque of Mandarin 天朝 (Tiāncháo, “(literary) the Chinese Empire, China”), from 天 (tiān, “heaven; sky”) + 朝 (cháo, “dynasty; emperor’s reign; imperial court; etc.”)), a dated name for China when it was subject to imperial rule.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: celestial, caelestiālis, caelestis, *kéh₂ilos

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/
  • British English: /sɪˈlɛs.ti.əl/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Astronomy.

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

celest celesta celeste Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce celestial?
The recorded pronunciation is /səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/.
What does celestial mean?
Of, relating to, or located in the sky or outer space, where the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars are visible.
Where does celestial come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce celestial

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “celestial”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “celestial”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “celestial” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.