Shangri-la

[shang-gruh-lah, shang-gruh-lah]

noun

1. an imaginary paradise on earth, especially a remote and exotic utopia.

2. a faraway haven or hideaway of idyllic beauty and tranquility.

   Last summer we rented a cottage on a little lake—our perfect Shangri-la.

Shangri-la

/ ˌʃæŋɡrɪˈlɑː /

noun

1. a remote or imaginary utopia

Shangri-La

1. A fictional land of peace and perpetual youth; the setting for the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by the English author James Hilton, but probably best known from the movie versions. Shangri-La is supposedly in the mountains of Tibet.

A “Shangri-La,” by extension, is an ideal refuge from the troubles of the world.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Shangri-La¹

After the fictional Tibetan land of eternal youth in the novel The Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton

Word History and Origins

Origin of Shangri-La¹

C20: from the name of an imaginary valley in the Himalayas, from Lost Horizon (1933), a novel by James Hilton