heavenly stem

noun

A day of the traditional ten-day week.

Similar
celestial stem
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Meanings

nounheavenly stem (plural heavenly stems)

plural heavenly stems

  1. One of the ten terms used in East Asian cultures to represent
    1. historicalastrologyA day of the traditional ten-day week.
    2. human sciencesOne of the ten suns thought to appear in succession on its appointed day of the traditional week.
    3. historicallifestyleThe ancestor venerated with a ritual on the appointed day of the traditional week.
    4. formalAn ordinal, used in similar contexts to Roman numerals in English numbering and outlining.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
celestial stem
Also see
celestial stem

Origin

Calque from Chinese 天干 (tiāngān).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan tronc celeste, tija de cel
  • tronc celesteset of ten terms in East Asian cultures
  • tija de celset of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Chinese Mandarin 天干, 十干
  • 天干 (tiāngān)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
  • 十干 (shígān)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Finnish taivaallinen runko
  • taivaallinen runkoset of ten terms in East Asian cultures
French tige céleste
  • tige célesteset of ten terms in East Asian cultures
German Himmelsstamm
  • Himmelsstammset of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Japanese 天干, 十干
  • 天干 (tenkan)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
  • 十干 (jikkan)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Korean 천간, 십간
  • 천간 (cheon'gan)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
  • 십간 (sipgan)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Russian небе́сный ствол
  • небе́сный ствол (nebésnyj stvol)set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Vietnamese thiên can
  • thiên canset of ten terms in East Asian cultures
Cite this entry
APA

heavenly stem. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heavenly%20stem

MLA

“heavenly stem.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heavenly%20stem. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heavenly stem,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heavenly%20stem.

Source: heavenly stem on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.