excellent: used as a motto, in the names of hotels, and as a trademark for various products, esp in the US for fine wood shavings used for packing breakable objects
2.
upwards
Word origin
C19: from Latin: higher
excelsior in American English
(ɛkˈsɛlsiˌɔr; ɪkˈsɛlsiər; for n., ɛkˈsɛlsi ər; ɪkˈsɛlsiər)
US
adjective, interjection
1.
higher; always upward
used as a motto (as on the New York State seal)
noun
2.
long, thin wood shavings used for packing breakable things or as stuffing in some furniture
Word origin
L, compar. of excelsus, lofty, high < pp. of excellere, excel: excelsior noun < orig. use as trademark
Examples of 'excelsior' in a sentence
excelsior
My new houseguest turned it into excelsior while I was gone.