I. -ēən adjective
Etymology: Late Latin empyreus, empyrius + English -an
: empyreal
the earthly perfection of the individual to a height no less empyrean than Luther's ideal of religious salvation — Helen Sullivan
empyrean aplomb — Hamilton Basso
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the highest heaven or heavenly sphere in ancient and medieval cosmology usually described as a sphere of fire or light — compare element 1; ether , heaven
b. : the true and ultimate heavenly paradise — used chiefly by certain Christian writers (as John Milton)
2. : firmament : heavens
an inhabitant of Mars guiding his spaceship through the empyrean — Lucius Garvin
the blue and cloudless empyrean — F.L.Allen
3. : a transcendentally sublime or lofty otherworldly place especially from which lofty ideas may be thought to derive
forever to inhabit an empyrean of blithe intellectual play, of charming fancies and biting good sense — Edmund Wilson
he alone stands still while the whole empyrean of Greek life circles about him — J.J.Chapman
the social theorist high in the empyrean of pure ideas uncontaminated by mundane facts — R.K.Merton