Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Excelsior
‖
Ex-cel′si-or
,Adj.
More lofty; still higher; ever upward.
Ex-cel′si-or
,Noun.
A kind of stuffing for upholstered furniture, mattresses, etc., in which curled shreds of wood are substituted for curled hair.
Definition 2024
excelsior
excelsior
English
Adjective
excelsior (not comparable)
- (archaic) Loftier, yet higher; ever upward
Noun
excelsior (uncountable)
- (US printing, dated) The size of type between Norse and brilliant, standardized as 3-point.
- Stuffing material (as for furniture and mattresses) made of slender, curled wood shavings, as a substitute for hair.
- 1942, Elliot Paul, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Sickle Moon 2001, p. 91:
- These little mangers, with baby dolls representing Jesus, porcelean Josephs and Marys, wide-eyed cows of papier-mâché, and excelsior for straw, were purchased by pious parents for well-behaved children at Christmas-tide.
- 1942, Elliot Paul, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Sickle Moon 2001, p. 91:
Synonyms
- (type size): (UK) minikin
Translations
3-point type
Latin
Etymology
excelsus (“elevated”, “lofty”) + -ior (suffix forming adjectives’ comparative degrees)
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ekˈskel.si.or/, [ɛkˈskɛɫ.si.ɔr]
Adjective
excelsior (comparative of excelsus)
Inflection
Third declension, comparative variant
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | |
| nominative | excelsior | excelsius | excelsiōrēs | excelsiōra | |
| genitive | excelsiōris | excelsiōrum | |||
| dative | excelsiōrī | excelsiōribus | |||
| accusative | excelsiōrem | excelsius | excelsiōrēs | excelsiōra | |
| ablative | excelsiōre | excelsiōribus | |||
| vocative | excelsior | excelsius | excelsiōrēs | excelsiōra | |