different between otherworldly vs empyrean

English

Etymology

otherworld +? -ly

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: ?th'?r-wûrld?li, IPA^(key): /??ð??w?ld.li/

Adjective

otherworldly (comparative more otherworldly, superlative most otherworldly)

1. Of, concerned with, or preoccupied with a different world than that of the tangible here and now, such as a heavenly, spiritual, or imaginary world.
   • 1917, H. G. Wells, God, the Invisible King, ch. 5,

     Every religion that becomes ascendant, in so far as it is not otherworldly, must necessarily set its stamp upon the methods and administration of the law.

   • 2007, Clive Davis, "Simphiwe Dana: The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street," Times of London, 26 Aug.,

     Dana has the otherworldly temperament of a mystic.

2. Not belonging to the real world; unnatural; odd and unfamiliar.

Alternative forms

• other-worldly

Translations

Synonyms

• (of a different world): alien, ethereal, mystical, transcendental

Related terms

• other-worldly

English

Etymology

From Latin emp?reus, from Ancient Greek ???????? (empúrios), from ?? (en, “in”) + ??? (pûr, “fire”) (whence English pyre).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?pa???i?n?/, /?m?p??i.?n/

Noun

empyrean (plural empyreans)

1. (historical) The region of pure light and fire; the highest heaven, where the pure element of fire was supposed by the ancients to exist: the same as the ether, the ninth heaven according to ancient astronomy.

Related terms

• pyre

Adjective

empyrean (not comparable)

1. Of the sky or the heavens; celestially refined.
   • 1700, Matthew Prior, Carmen Saeculare

     Yet upward she [the goddess] incessant flies;
     Resolv’d to reach the high empyrean Sphere.

Synonyms

• empyreal

Translations

References

• empyrean in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914) , “empyrean”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, volume II (D–Hoon), revised edition, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., OCLC 1078064371.

Further reading

• empyrean on Wikipedia.Wikipedia