heavenly

See also: Heavenly

English

Alternative forms

• Heavenly

Etymology

From Middle English hevenely, hevenly, from Old English heofonlīċ (“heavenly, celestial; chaste”); equivalent to heaven +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛvənli/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

heavenly (comparative heavenlier or more heavenly, superlative heavenliest or most heavenly)

1. Of or pertaining to the heaven believed in by many religions.

   Synonyms: celestial, (obsolete) celest, paradisal, paradisaical, paradisaic, paradisic

2. Synonym of celestial: of or pertaining to the heavens, the sky regarded as the realm of the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
3. Of or pertaining to the kingdom of God.

   Synonyms: divine, spiritual

   • 1817, Charles Phillips (author-editor), Speech in the Case of O′Mullan v. M′Korkill, The Speeches of Charles Phillips, page 131,

     No doubt, you have all personally considered — no doubt, you have all personally experienced, that of all the blessings which it has pleased Providence to allow us to cultivate, there is not one which breathes a purer fragrance, or bears an heavenlier aspect than education.

4. (figurative) Strongly or sublimely beautiful or pleasurable.

   Synonyms: beatific, blissful, divine, delightful, heavenlike, wonderful

   Oh, please continue giving me a massage—it's absolutely heavenly.

   • 1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     So he flew down and got that acorn, and fetched it up and dropped it in, and was just tilting his head back, with the heavenliest smile on his face, when all of a sudden he was paralyzed into a listening attitude and that smile faded gradually out of his countenance like breath off′n a razor, and the queerest look of surprise took its place.

   • 1987, Gary Clark (lyrics and music), “Mary's Prayer”, performed by Danny Wilson:

     Everything is wonderful / Being here is heavenly

Derived terms

• sleep in heavenly peace

Translations

pertaining to heaven

• Arabic: سَمَاوِيّ (samāwiyy)
• Armenian: երկնային (hy) (erknayin)
• Belarusian: нябе́сны (njabjésny)
• Bengali: জান্নাতী (bn) (jannati)
• Bikol Central: langitnon
• Bulgarian: небе́сен (bg) (nebésen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 天的 (zh) (tiānde)

• Czech: nebeský (cs)
• Dutch: hemels (nl)
• Esperanto: ĉiela
• Finnish: taivaallinen (fi)
• French: céleste (fr)

  Middle French: celeste

  Old French: celeste

• Galician: celeste (gl)
• Georgian: ზეციური (zeciuri)
• German: himmlisch (de)
• Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃 (himinakunds)
• Greek:

  Ancient: οὐράνιος (ouránios), ἐπουράνιος (epouránios), (Epic) δῖος (dîos)

• Hungarian: mennyei (hu), égi (hu)
• Irish: neamhaí
• Italian: divino (it), celeste (it)
• Japanese: 天の (ja) (ten no)
• Korean: 하늘의 (ko) (haneurui)
• Latin: caelestis (la)
• Macedonian: небесен (nebesen)
• Middle English: hevenely
• Polish: niebiański (pl)
• Portuguese: celeste (pt)
• Russian: небе́сный (ru) (nebésnyj)
• Sanskrit: दिव्य (sa) (divya)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: небѐскӣ

  Roman: nebèskī (sh)

• Slovak: nebeský
• Slovene: nebeški, nebesen
• Spanish: celestial (es), celeste (es)
• Ukrainian: небе́сний (nebésnyj)

pertaining to the kingdom of God; divine

• Bengali: জান্নাতী (bn) (jannati)
• Bulgarian: божествен (bg) (božestven)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 天国的, 天堂的

• Finnish: taivaallinen (fi)
• German: himmlisch (de)
• Gothic: 𐌷𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃 (himinakunds)
• Greek:

  Ancient: οὐράνιος (ouránios), (Epic) δῖος (dîos)

• Hungarian: mennyei (hu)
• Italian: divino (it)
• Latin: caelestis (la)
• Middle English: hevenely
• Polish: boski (pl), niebiański (pl)
• Russian: боже́ственный (ru) (božéstvennyj)
• Sanskrit: दिव्य (sa) (divya)

extremely beautiful or pleasurable

• Bulgarian: блажен (bg) (blažen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 漂亮的, 可爱的

• Esperanto: ĉiela
• Finnish: taivaallinen (fi)
• German: himmlisch (de)
• Hungarian: mennyei (hu)
• Ido: cielala (io)
• Italian: divino (it)
• Middle English: hevenely
• Polish: niebiański (pl)
• Russian: восхити́тельный (ru) (vosxitítelʹnyj), очарова́тельный (ru) (očarovátelʹnyj), боже́ственный (ru) (božéstvennyj)
• Vietnamese: tuyệt trần (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hungarian: fenséges (hu)

Adverb

heavenly (comparative more heavenly, superlative most heavenly)

1. In a manner like that of heaven; by the influence or agency of heaven; divinely, miraculously.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     by night [she] saw that God in her armes, saying moreover unto her, that the next day, the first man she met withall, should heavenly pay her her wages.

2. To a degree such as to elicit great pleasure.
   • 2003, Ruben Soto, Fiesta for the Hispanic Soul, page 136:

     Then, we taste the refried beans and the rice, and they are so heavenly delicious.

Derived terms

• heavenliness
• heavenly bamboo
• heavenly birthday
• heavenly body
• Heavenly Father
• heavenly host
• heavenly-minded
• heavenly stem
• heavenly virtues
• Heavenly Witnesses
• unheavenly