[L., compar. deg. of excelsus high: see EXCELSE.]
ǁ 1. a. The Latin motto (‘higher’) on the seal of the State of New York (adopted by the senate of that state 16 March 1778), the accompanying device being a rising sun. Hence attrib. in The Excelsior State, New York. b. Used by Longfellow (quasi-int. as an expression of incessant aspiration after higher attainment) as the refrain of a popular poem; hence employed with similar sense by many later writers.
The adverbial meaning (= ‘upwards’) commonly given to the motto cannot be justified by L. grammar. According to S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow, I. 401, the poet was at first unaware of the solecism in the motto as thus interpreted, and when it was pointed out to him suggested that the word might be taken to stand for Scopus meus excelsior est, ‘My goal is higher.’ It is not clear whether the original use on the seal is a blunder, or whether it was meant as an abbreviation for some grammatically admissible phrase.
1778. Drawing of Seal, in N. Y. Senate Rep. (1881), No. 61. Excelsior.
1841. Longf., Excelsior, 30. A voice replied, far up the height, Excelsior!
2. Often used as a ‘trade-mark,’ and attrib. in the names given by tradesmen to special articles of manufacture; also in the titles of various periodicals in U.S. and in England.
1851. Catal. Grt. Exhibition, III. 1467. Excelsior soap [An American exhibit].
1876. Furniture Gaz., 24 June, 401/1. The Excelsior spring mattress.
1888. (title) The New Excelsior Test Cards in Arithmetic.
3. U.S. A trade name for short thin curled shavings of soft wood used for stuffing cushions, mattresses, etc. Also attrib. in excelsior-machine.
1868. Specif. U. S. Patent, No. 75728. A machine for manufacturing that article of commerce technically called ‘excelsior’ for filling mattrasses.
1873. Furniture Gaz., 22 May, 3/2. ‘Excelsior’ or fine wood shavings used for cheap upholstery purposes.
1874. Knight, Dict. Mech., I. 815/1. Excelsior-Machine.
1884. Boston (Mass.) Jrnl., 9 June. Large quantities of poplar-wood, to be used in the manufacture of excelsior.
