celestial
/səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.53 in modern English
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 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
- "[G]oe vvith ſpeede / To ſome forlorne and naked Hermytage, / Remote from all the pleaſurs of the vvorld: / There ſtay vntill the tvvelue Celeſtiall Signes / Haue brought about the annuall reckoning."
- "[W]e muſt of neceſſitie vſe the benefit of yeares, daies, hovvers, minutes, vvhich all grovve from cœleſtiall motion."
- "[T]he pictures of the cæleſtial globe vvere deſigned memoriæ cauſâ [for memory's sake], by the ſouthern Scythians, vvho dvvelt in Chaldæa, Armenia, &c.— […] [W]e mean to prove, that the ſouthern Scythians, from vvhom the Iriſh and primitive inhabitants of Britain are deſcended, vvere the authors or inventors of thoſe extraordinary figures on the cæleſtial charts, vvhich they drevv or painted as repreſentations of the things expreſſed by the vvord formed of the aſtronomical characters."
- "He [Ebenezer Scrooge] then conveyed him and his sister into the veriest old well of a shivering best-parlour that ever was seen, where the maps upon the wall, and the celestial and terrestrial globes in the windows, were waxy with cold."
- "A Celestial Nose in a woman is very frequently an index of wit. […] A Celestial-nosed woman is only more witty than a similarly gifted man, because the impudence which it invariably indicates is backed by woman's ever-ready tact and quickness."
- "If there is a man in the Celestial Empire, who will lay his hand upon his breast, and declare in the presence of our God, that he hath derived more pleasure from truth than from lies, then let Rao-Gong-Fao be thrown on his belly, and let his back be channelled for a bamboo-bed."
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
more celestial (comparative)
most celestial (superlative)
cælestial (alternative)
cælestiall (alternative)
celestiall (alternative)
cœlestial (alternative)
celestials (plural)