Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- of or in the heavens: the heavenly bodies.
- of, belonging to, or coming from the heaven of God, the angels, etc.
- resembling or befitting heaven; blissful; beautiful: His home in Tahiti was a heavenly spot.
- divine or celestial: heavenly peace.
adjective
- informal alluring, wonderful, or sublime
- of or occurring in spacea heavenly body
- divine; holy
Old English heofonlic “celestial; chaste;” see heaven + -ly (1). Meaning “beautiful, divinely lovely” is late 14c., often (though not originally) with reference to the celestial “music of the spheres;” weakened sense of “excellent, enjoyable” is first recorded 1874. The heavenly bodies (stars, planets, etc.) attested from late 14c. Related: Heavenliness.