Etymology

in excelsis

Today it means: To the highest degree; archetypal, quintessential. Full definition →

Ecclesiastical Latin in excelsīs
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The story

  1. Ecclesiastical Latin · borrowed fromin excelsīs“on high, in the highest”
  2. English todayin excelsis

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin in excelsīs (“on high, in the highest”), as in the Gloria.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.