I. |tranˌsen|dent ə l, |tran(t)s ə n|-, -raan- adjective
Etymology: Medieval Latin transcendentalis, from Latin transcendent-, transcendens + -alis -al
1.
a. Aristotelianism : reaching or lying beyond the bounds of any category ; also : metaphysical
b. Kantianism
(1) : of or relating to the a priori and necessary conditions of human experience as determined by the constitution of the mind itself
(2) : transcending what is determined by the contingent particularity of experience though not transcending all human knowledge — contrasted with transcendent 1b
2. : transcendent 1a
few men have had his transcendental capacity to stir the heart — J.H.Plumb
the trout fisherman … with that transcendental patience — Richard Jefferies
an event of transcendental importance — Rodrigo Miró
3.
a. : incapable of being the root of an algebraic equation with rational integral coefficients
π is a transcendental number
b. : being, involving, or representing a function (as sin x, log x, e x ) that cannot be expressed by a finite number of algebraic operations
4.
a. : extending or being beyond the limits of ordinary experience
extreme transcendental idealism which viewed the world as the visonary creation of the fallen soul of man — E.S.Bates
a transcendental world of concepts has therefore been envisaged by the philosophers — C.K.Ogden & I.A.Richards
b. : of or relating to the supernatural
the vital transcendental soul, belonging to the spiritual realm — Lewis Mumford
find transcendental motives for sublunary action — Aldous Huxley
c. : abstruse , abstract
that transcendental phraseology which defies exact translation — Herbert Read
insensitive plodders … regrettably unable to follow the transcendental speculations — C.W.Shumaker
d. : of or relating to transcendentalism
the transcendental belief … that every part of nature is an emblem, symbol, or analogue of a spiritual or intellectual truth — R.L.Cook
II. noun
( -s )
: something that is transcendental: as
a. : a transcendental idea or doctrine
b. Scholasticism : any one of the broadest conceptions of being (as being, thing, one, truth)
he appears to assume, in many places but particularly in his demonstrations of God, both that being (or some equivalent transcendental ) is a genus, and that God is in it — H.T.Schwartz