Etymologically
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celestial

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /sɪˈlɛs.ti.əl/, /sɪˈlɛs.t͡ʃəl/[1]
  • US: /səˈlɛs.t͡ʃ(ə)l/, /səˈlɛs.ti.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French celestial (“celestial, heavenly, sky-blue”), also celestiel,[2][3][4][5] from Latin caelestis (“heavenly, of the sky”),[2][3][4][5] from caelum (“sky, heaven”).[2][3][6] The Oxford dictionaries, Collins and the American Heritage Dictionary take it through Medieval Latin caelestiālis.[7][8][6][9][10] In Anglo-Norman the adjective is recorded from 1121–25, already meaning "heavenly".[11] The origin of the Latin noun is uncertain;[3][5][4] Etymonline suggests Proto-Indo-European *kaid-slo-, perhaps from a root meaning "bright, clear" also found in Lithuanian skaidrus (“shining, clear”), Old English hādor (“clear, bright”), German heiter (“clear, cloudless”) and Old Norse heið (“clear sky”).[3][12] The Latin noun is also the source of French ciel, Spanish cielo and Italian cielo.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to heaven, as the dwelling of God, the gods, angels and the blessed: about 1384, in Chaucer's House of Fame.[2][7] Barnhart cites it first from about 1380, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.[4]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer also used it of the sky or the visible heavens, in his Treatise on the Astrolabe (1391), the source of later terms such as celestial equator and celestial globe.[2][3] From 1430, in Lydgate, it meant divinely excellent or beautiful,[2] the transferred sense "heavenly, very delightful" that Etymonline dates to the early 15th century.[3] Johnson (1755) defined it as "heavenly; relating to the superiour regions".[13] As a noun it has meant an inhabitant of heaven since 1573.[2][14] Celestial Empire, translating one of the Chinese names for China, is dated 1808 by Etymonline and 1824 by the OED;[3][2] Weekley connects it with the title "son of heaven" formerly borne by the emperor.[15] From it came celestial for a Chinese person, used in the United States from 1840,[16] and recorded by the OED from 1842.[2] Jocularly, a celestial nose was a turned-up one, pointing to the heavens.[2][16]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – in Chaucer's translation of Boethius (Barnhart).[4]
  • c. 1384 – of or relating to heaven, the dwelling of God or the gods.[2]
  • 1391 – of the sky or the material heavens, in Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe.[2]
  • 1430 – divinely excellent or beautiful.[2]
  • 1484 – of a divine nature.[2]
  • 1573 – noun, an inhabitant of heaven.[2][14]
  • 1808 – Celestial Empire, China.[3]
  • 1840 – noun, a Chinese person (American slang).[16]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to the sky or outer space; astronomical: Ancient sailors steered by the positions of celestial bodies.[9][2][14]
  2. Of or relating to heaven; divine or spiritual.[9][14][2]
  3. Supremely good or beautiful; heavenly: a celestial voice.[14][2]

Noun

  1. A heavenly or mythical being; an inhabitant of heaven.[14][2]
  2. (usually capitalized) A Chinese person, a native of the Celestial Empire.[14][2]
  3. Sky blue, also called celestial blue.[14]

Word family

  • celestially
  • celestialness
  • noncelestial
  • subcelestial
  • supercelestial
  • uncelestial
  • Celestial City
  • Celestial Empire

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  12. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  15. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  16. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com