excelsior

adj

1. (archaic, not-comparable, poetic, rare)Loftier, yet higher, more elevated; ever upward.

   “There was with him a whole host of moral heroes, who, conscious of their power to win the victory , and quickened by the inspirations which they received from that higher state of being, were striving, by the excelsior movement of the soul, to attain to those glory-encircled heights from whence they could look calmly down upon the plane of their earthly existence.”

   “At this crisis, reverberating among the pines, rang out more distinctly the voice of the excelsior man , urging me to come on. "Oh! I'm all right down here," I answered, gasping for breath.”

   “All we know for certain is that our tree, now approaching a hundred years old, was excelsior – loftier than any other ash in the vicinity.”

2. (archaic, not-comparable, poetic, rare)More surpassing, more excelling.

   “It was clear from the first three paragraphs that the language employed by Mr Tolkien was excelsior. He was brilliant.”

   “Without comparisons, the beautiful is neither felt nor understood, so that it is the excelsior of the normal type, it is the true + x; it is the splendour of the true.”

   “... many people feel that having plastic surgery is a kind of rebirth. I think she felt that every time she had it, it was reinventing herself. It was excelsior, it was higher, it was better.”

intj

1. (dated)Onward; a rallying cry for progress.

   “... and when the shout 'Excelsior!' echoed, up the oaken heights, Two hundred heels went thundering all at once, Four stairs at every jump”

   “Adventurous spirits cried "Excelsior," but having had enough of climbing, with several friends we retraced our steps, and reached the farms, where little girls brought us plates of raspberries, currants, and cherries for a consideration.”

   “The bishops cried: "Excelsior!" But the archbishop: "Stay!"”

2. (especially, slang)A greeting, farewell or acclamation.

   “MARTIN PRINCE: Finally, Bart's one of us! NERDS: Excelsior!”

   “He makes a fake snorting noises with his nose and says “Excelsior to you too then, man” as he pushes up imaginary glasses on his face as if I'm the nerd.”

   “Comic-Con International in San Diego is the exemplar of the con experience. Hold your breath, prepare your Sonic Screwdriver or Batarang, and dive right in. Excelsior!”

noun

1. (US, dated, uncountable)The size of type between Norse and brilliant, standardized as 3-point.
2. (Canada, US, uncountable)Stuffing material (as for furniture and mattresses) made of slender, curled woodshavings, as a substitute for hair.

   “These little mangers, with baby dolls representing Jesus, porcelean Josephs and Marys, wide-eyed cows of papier-mâché, and excelsior for straw, were purchased by pious parents for well-behaved children at Christmas-tide.”

   “Working both [of them] at Kroll's then, she selling candy and cashews in a white smock with "Jan" stitched on her pocket and he lugging easy chairs and maple end tables around on the floor above, hammering apart packing crates from nine to five, the itch of the packing excelsior getting into his nose and eyes and making them burn.”

   “Each Pet Rock came in a cardboard carrying case, complete with air holes, tenderly nestled on a bed of excelsior.”