Etymology

sublime

sub·lime
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Today it means: To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container; (generally) to change (a solid substance) into a gas without breaking down or passing through the liquid state by heating it gently. Full definition →

Middle English sublimen ← Middle French sublimer ← Old French sublimer
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sublime · verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*Heh₃l-“to bend”
  2. Latin · derived fromsublīmāre
  3. Old French · derived fromsublimer“to exalt, glorify, honour; to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; of a substance: to undergo sublimation”
  4. Middle French · derived fromsublimer
  5. Middle English · inherited fromsublimen
  6. English todaysublime

PIE word *upó Partly from the following: * From Middle English sublimen, sublime, sublyme (“to exalt, extol, glorify, honour; (alchemy) to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; to obtain (a substance) by cooling vapour obtained through sublimation; to extract (a pure substance) from a mixture by sublimation; to sublimate (a substance)”), from Middle French sublimer, Old French sublimer (“to exalt, glorify, honour; to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; of a substance: to undergo sublimation”) (modern French sublimer), and from its etymon Latin sublīmāre, the present active infinitive of sublimō (“to elevate, raise; to soar”) (compare Late Latin sublimō (“to elevate, raise; to exalt, glorify, honour; to sublimate, vaporize”)), from sublīmis (“elevated, raised; exalted, uplifted, sublime; elevated in style”) (from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under; up to’) + possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- (“to bend”) (whence Latin līmen (“threshold”) and līmus (“askew; sideways”))) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). * From sublime (adjective). Cognates * Catalan sublimar * Italian sublimare * Old Occitan sublimar * Portuguese sublimar * Spanish sublimar

sublime · adjective, noun2

  1. Middle French · derived fromsublime“elevated style in writing; quality in art or nature inspiring awe, reverence, etc.”
  2. Latin · derived fromsublīmis
  3. Middle French · derived fromsublime“admirable, excellent, perfect; placed in a high position; reaching a great height; of a person: of high office or rank”
  4. English todaysublime

The adjective is derived from Middle French sublime (“admirable, excellent, perfect; placed in a high position; reaching a great height; of a person: of high office or rank”) (modern French sublime), and from its etymon Latin sublīmis, sublīmus (“elevated, raised; exalted, uplifted, sublime”, adjective): see etymology 1. The noun is derived from Middle French sublime (“elevated style in writing; quality in art or nature inspiring awe, reverence, etc.”) (modern French sublime), from the adjective: see further above. Cognates * Catalan sublim * Italian sublime * Portuguese sublime * Spanish sublime

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*Heh₃l- all →

subliminalliminalliminary

Latinsublīmis all →

sublimification

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.