empyrean etymology

Etymology:

The word "empyrean" comes from the Greek word "empyros" (ἐμπύριος), which means "fiery" or "of fire."

Meaning:

The empyrean refers to the highest part of the heavens, believed in ancient and medieval cosmology to be the abode of God, the angels, and the stars. It is often depicted as a glowing or fiery realm, hence its etymology.

Origin:

The concept of the empyrean originated in ancient Greek philosophy. The philosopher Plato, in his dialogue "Timaeus," described the empyrean as the outermost sphere of the cosmos, composed of fiery ether and containing the fixed stars.

Later, in Christian theology, the empyrean became associated with the highest level of heaven, where God and the angels resided. This concept was influenced by the writings of the Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a 5th-century Neoplatonic philosopher.

In literature and poetry, the empyrean has been used as a metaphor for the highest realms of thought, aspiration, or experience. It often symbolizes the realm of the divine, the inaccessible, or the unattainable.

empyrean relate terms

  • antipyretic

    Etymology Greek anti against pyretos fever Meaning An antipyretic is a m

  • burro

    Etymology The word burro is derived from the Spanish word burro which in turn comes

  • empyreal

    Etymology Greek empyrios fiery of fire Latin empyreus of fire fiery French e

  • empyrean

    Etymology The word empyrean comes from the Greek word empyros ἐμπύριος w

  • fire

    Etymology The word fire comes from the Old English fīr which is ultimately derived

  • pyracanth

    Etymology The word pyracanth is derived from the Greek words pyr πῦρ meaning

  • pyre

    Etymology Old French pire piere Latin pȳra Greek πῦρ pyr Meaning A stru

  • pyretic

    Etymology Pyretic is derived from the Greek word pyretos which means fever The su

  • pyrexia

    Etymology Greek πῦρ pyros fire Latin ex out Meaning Literally out of

  • pyrite

    Etymology The word pyrite is derived from the Greek word pyr meaning fire This n

  • pyro

    Etymology Greek pyr fire Meaning Relating to fire or its properties Origin

  • pyrolusite

    Etymology The word pyrolusite is derived from two Greek words pyr πῦρ Fire

  • pyromania

    Etymology and Meaning of Pyromania Pyromania is a psychological disorder characterized b

  • Pyrrhic

    Etymology The term Pyrrhic comes from the Greek Πύρρος Pyrrhos the name of

  • sbirro

    Etymology Italian from Latin sbirrus birrus perhaps from birrus a kind of cape worn

  • sphere

    Etymology The word sphere comes from the Latin word sphaera which in turn comes from

  • firmament

    Etymology Latin firmamentum from late Latin firmare to strengthen Proto Indo Europe

  • welkin

    Etymology Middle English welken from Old English wolcen from Proto Germanic wulknō

  • zenith

    Etymology Middle English zenith from Old French zenith from Old Provençal zenit

  • zodiac

    Etymology The word zodiac is derived from the Late Latin word zōdiacus which in tur

  • nadir

    Etymology From French nadir from Arabic نظير naẓīr meaning opposite Mea

  • drain

    Etymology The word drain comes from the Middle English word dreynen which itself der

  • sublime

    Etymology The word sublime is derived from the Latin word sublimis which means loft

  • apex

    Etymology Latin apex summit top Meaning The highest point or peak The po