paradise

noun

1. heaven, as the final abode of the righteous.
2. an intermediate place for the departed souls of the righteous awaiting resurrection.
3. (often initial capital letter) Eden1(def 1).
4. a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness.
5. a state of supreme happiness; bliss.
6. Architecture.
   1. parvis.
   2. an enclosure beside a church, as an atrium or cloister.
7. (initial capital letter, italics) Italian Pa·ra·di·so [pah-rah-dee-zaw] /ˌpɑ rɑˈdi zɔ/. the third and concluding part of Dante’s Divine Comedy, depicting heaven, through which he is guided by Beatrice.Compare inferno(def 3), purgatory(def 2).

noun

1. a town in N California.

noun

1. heaven as the ultimate abode or state of the righteous
2. Islam the sensual garden of delights that the Koran promises the faithful after death
3. Also called: limbo (according to some theologians) the intermediate abode or state of the just prior to the Resurrection of Jesus, as in Luke 23:43
4. the place or state of happiness enjoyed by Adam before the first sin; the Garden of Eden
5. any place or condition that fulfils all one’s desires or aspirations
6. a park in which foreign animals are kept

n.late 12c., “Garden of Eden,” from Old French paradis “paradise, Garden of Eden” (11c.), from Late Latin paradisus, from Greek paradeisos “park, paradise, Garden of Eden,” from an Iranian source, cf. Avestan pairidaeza “enclosure, park” (Modern Persian and Arabic firdaus “garden, paradise”), compound of pairi- “around” + diz “to make, form (a wall).” The first element is cognate with Greek peri- “around, about” (see per), the second is from PIE root *dheigh- “to form, build” (see dough). The Greek word, originally used for an orchard or hunting park in Persia, was used in Septuagint to mean “Garden of Eden,” and in New Testament translations of Luke xxiii:43 to mean “heaven” (a sense attested in English from c.1200). Meaning “place like or compared to Paradise” is from c.1300. A place or state of pure happiness. Christians (see also Christian) have identified paradise both with the Garden of Eden and with heaven. see fool’s paradise.