empyrean

[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

1. empyreal.

empyrean

/ 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

adjective

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

2. heavenly or sublime

3. archaic,  composed of fire

Word History and Origins

Origin of empyrean¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of empyrean¹

C17: from Medieval Latin empyreus, from Greek empuros fiery, from pur fire

Example Sentences

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

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Read more on 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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Read more on The New Yorker