empyrean

American  

[em-puh-ree-uhn, -pahy-, em-pir-ee-uhn, -pahy-ree-] / ˌɛm pəˈri ən, -paɪ-, ɛmˈpɪr i ən, -ˈpaɪ ri- /

noun

1. the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure element of fire.

2. the visible heavens; the firmament.

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adjective

1. empyreal.

empyrean British  

/ ˌɛmpaɪˈriːən /

noun

1. archaic the highest part of the (supposedly spherical) heavens, thought in ancient times to contain the pure element of fire and by early Christians to be the abode of God and the angels

2. poetic the heavens or sky

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adjective

1. of or relating to the sky, the heavens, or the empyrean

2. heavenly or sublime

3. archaic composed of fire

Etymology

Origin of empyrean

1605–15; < Late Latin empyre ( us ) empyreal + -an

Example Sentences

This is the kind of thriller that invites you into a gilded empyrean that compels you and repels you in equal measure.

From Los Angeles Times

He is especially good at describing Catherine’s ascent into the social media empyrean.

From Los Angeles Times

The arrival is at empyrean, announced by a hidden, mystic Los Angeles Master Chorale.

From Los Angeles Times

No, this is the summit, the last line on the last page, the empyrean heights to which those dozen-and-a-half interviews have led.

From Los Angeles Times

Still, there was no prohibition, earthly or empyrean, on laymen entering the ranks, and, here and there, they did.

From The New Yorker