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empyrean

 - 4 dictionary results

em⋅py⋅re⋅an

[em-puh-ree-uhn, -pahy-, em-pir-ee-uhn, -pahy-ree-]
–noun
1. the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure element of fire.
2. the visible heavens; the firmament.
–adjective
3. empyreal.

Origin:
1605–15; < LL empyre(us) empyreal + -an

em⋅pyr⋅e⋅al

[em-pir-ee-uhl, -pahy-ree-, em-puh-ree-uhl, -pahy-]
–adjective
1. pertaining to the highest heaven in the cosmology of the ancients.
2. pertaining to the sky; celestial: empyreal blue.
3. formed of pure fire or light: empyreal radiance.
Also, empyrean.


Origin:
1475–85; < LL empyre(us), var. of empyrius (< Gk empýrios fiery, equiv. to em- em- 2 + pŷr fire + -ios adj. suffix) + -al 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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em·py·re·an   (ěm'pī-rē'ən, ěm-pîr'ē-ən)   
n.  
    1. The highest reaches of heaven, believed by the ancients to be a realm of pure fire or light.

    2. The abode of God and the angels; paradise.

  1. The sky.

adj.  Of or relating to the empyrean of ancient belief.

[From Medieval Latin empyreum, from empyreus, empyreal; see empyreal.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

empyrean 
1340 (as empyre), from Gk. empyros "fiery," from pyr "fire;" confused by early writers with imperial. In Gk. cosmology, the highest heaven, the sphere of pure fire; later baptized with a Christian gloss as "the abode of God and the angels."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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