excelsior

Adjective

excelsior (not comparable)

1. (archaic, poetic, rare) Loftier, yet higher, more elevated; ever upward.
   • There was with him a whole host of moral heroes, who, conscious of their power to win the victory , and quickened by the inspirations which they received from that higher state of being, were striving, by the excelsior movement of the soul, to attain to those glory-encircled heights from whence...1865, Lizzie Doten, Poems from the Inner Life, page 154
   • At this crisis, reverberating among the pines, rang out more distinctly the voice of the excelsior man , urging me to come on. "Oh! I'm all right down here," I answered, gasping for breath.1890, Henry Brainard Kent, Graphic Sketches of the West, page 69
2. (archaic, poetic, rare) More surpassing, more excelling.
   • It was clear from the first three paragraphs that the language employed by Mr Tolkien was excelsior. He was brilliant.2004, Sean Astin, Joseph Layden, There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale : a Behind-the-scenes Look at the Lord of the Rings, →ISBN
   • Without comparisons, the beautiful is neither felt nor understood, so that it is the excelsior of the normal type, it is the true + x; it is the splendour of the true.2008 February 16, Paolo Mantegazza, Physiology of Love and Other Writings, University of Toronto Press, →ISBN, page 489

Interjection

1. (dated) Onward; a rallying cry for progress.
   • ... and when the shout 'Excelsior!' echoed, up the oaken heights,
     Two hundred heels went thundering all at once, Four stairs at every jump1851, The Knickerbacker, page 236
   • Adventurous spirits cried "Excelsior," but having had enough of climbing, with several friends we retraced our steps, and reached the farms, where little girls brought us plates of raspberries, currants, and cherries for a consideration.1890, Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (Scotland)., History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club: Instituted September 22, 1831, page 90
2. (especially, slang) A greeting, farewell or acclamation.
   • MARTIN PRINCE: Finally, Bart's one of us!
     NERDS: Excelsior!1993, Frank Mula, “The Last Temptation of Homer”, in The Simpsons, season 5, episode 9
   • He makes a fake snorting noises with his nose and says “Excelsior to you too then, man” as he pushes up imaginary glasses on his face as if I'm the nerd.2014 November 10, Matthew L. Williams, Truth Is, You're Still Dreaming, AuthorHouse, →ISBN

Noun

excelsior (uncountable)

1. (US, dated) The size of type between Norse and brilliant, standardized as 3-point.

   Synonyms:

   minikin

2. (Canada, US) Stuffing material (as for furniture and mattresses) made of slender, curled woodshavings, as a substitute for hair.
   • 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, published 2001, page 91
   • Working both [of them] at Kroll's then, she selling candy and cashews in a white smock with "Jan" stitched on her pocket and he lugging easy chairs and maple end tables around on the floor above, hammering apart packing crates from nine to five, the itch of the packing excelsior getting into his...1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 13

   Synonyms:

   wood wool