▪ I. exalt, v.
(ɛgˈzɒlt, -ɔː-)
Also 5 exsaulte, (8 exhalt).
[ad. L. exaltāre, f. ex- (see ex- prefix1) + altus high. Cf. Fr. exalter (16th c. in Littré).
Vulgar Lat. had *exaltiare of similar formation and meaning, of which the regular phonetic descendant is OF. essalcier, essaucier, represented in mod.F. by the two vbs. exhausser to lift up, and exaucer to listen favourably to (a prayer): with the latter cf. 6.]
1. trans. To raise or set up on high; to lift up, elevate. In physical sense now arch. or rhetorical, or in humorously bombastic use.
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras xv. 53 Thou haddest..slayne my chosen, exaltinge the stroke of thy handes. 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Matt. xi. 23 Thou Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted vp to heauen? 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. iii. 8, I haue seene Th' ambitious Ocean swell..To be exalted with the threatning clouds. 1613 T. Milles tr. Mexia's Treas. Anc. & Mod. Times 954 Exalting his Courtlax to strike the stroke. 1698 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) IV. 401 Yesterday one Hoyle was fined; as also to be exalted in the market place..instead of a pillory. 1712 Pope Messiah 86 Imperial Salem, rise! Exalt thy tow'ry head. 1808 J. Barlow Columb. i. 325 Exalt your heads, ye oaks. 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. i. xvii. (1865) 131 Exalting his umbrella over her poor basket of fruit. 1832 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 287 Let the rogues swing, And thus be exalted. |
b. transf. To ‘lift up’ (the voice, a song). arch. Cf. enhance 1 c.
| 1611 Bible 2 Kings xix. 22 Against whome hast thou exalted thy voyce? 1709 Prior Henry & Emma 737 Now, Mars, she said, let Fame exalt her voice. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. i. 642 The warbling birds exalt their evening lay. 1795 A. Musgrave Cicely I. 35 Jane, exalting her voice, cried, etc. |
2. In various fig. or non-material senses: a. To raise in rank, honour, estimation, power, or wealth. † Formerly occas. with title as complement. † Also (rarely) with up.
| ? a 1400 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) I. 9 The three tryalles in a throne, And trewe Trenitie, Be grounded in my God heade, Exsaulted by my excelencye. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. x, One she [Fortune] can high in riches exalte And an other plonge in pouertye. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxix. 241 Wyllyam exalted the Normans, and gaue vnto theym the chief possessyons of the lande. 1565 Card. Allen in Fulke Confut. Doctr. Purgatory (1577) 377 Proue me that your mother Church prayeth not for her departed..you shall be exalted up for euer. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 72 It seemeth likely that you will aspire to take his crowne from him, and to be exalted king yourselfe. 1611 Bible Ezek. xxi. 26 Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. a 1658 Waller Poems, To my Ld. Protector xxi, Still as you rise, the state, exalted too, Finds no distemper. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 736 Scepter'd Angels..whom the supreme King Exalted to such power. 1771 Junius Lett. lxvii. 330 Society can exalt the meanest and worst of men. 1861 May Const. Hist. (1863) I. i. 10 He [George III] came to the throne determined to exalt the kingly office. |
† b. To elate with pride, joy, etc. Also intr. for refl. Obs.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) I v b, With a littell fauour ye wyl exalt, augement, and grow into gret prid. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 44 When the Empresse had..committed the king to warde..she was not therewith a little exalted. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 67 Not so hot: In his owne grace he doth exalt himselfe, More then in your addition. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. (1843) 48/2 The covenanters..were very reasonably exalted with this success. 1708 Pope Ode St. Cecilia 27 Music..when the soul is press'd with cares, Exalts her in enlivening airs. |
c. refl. To assume superiority. arch.
| 1611 Bible 1 Kings i. 5 Then Adoniiah the sonne of Haggith exalted himselfe, saying, I wil be king. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion iii. i, Exalt thyself past limits of my law, I feed thee still. |
| transf. 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 73 That the Salt does not exalt itself above the Sulphur. |
d. To praise, extol, magnify. Also absol.
| 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy. i. v, He that lyst her name so hyghe exalte. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 59 b, And exalting it [his holy lyfe] moost hye, meke thyselfe in herte moost lowe. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1023 In Heven..they may laude and exalte with the saintes. a 1545 Croke Ps. (Percy Soc.) 18 My tonge shall both daye and houre, Dewly exalte thy iustice styll. 1611 Bible Ps. xxxiv. 3 O magnifie the Lord with me, and let vs exalt his name together. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 132 Taking opportunely hold of an occasion..to exalt the valour of the younger [Prince]. 1719 Watts Ps. xcix. ii, Exalt the Lord our God. a 1845 Hood Tale Trump. 140 The brandy and salt We now exalt, Had made a noise in the public ear. |
e. To raise to a higher class, a higher degree of value or excellence; to dignify, ennoble.
| 1711 Steele Spect. No. 4 ¶8, I shall not lower but exalt the Subjects I treat upon. 1788 Reid Aristotle's Log. iv. §3. 80 A negative may be exalted into an affirmative. 1791 Boswell Johnson 5 Apr. an. 1772 Men less exalted by spiritual habits. 1836 Emerson Nat., Lang. Wks. (Bohn) II. 152 The moment our discourse..is..exalted by thought, it clothes itself in images. |
f. To stimulate (powers) to higher activity.
| 1744 Thomson Summer 307 Each liquid..Inflames, refreshes, or exalts the taste. 1860 Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. vi. iii, Trivial causes had the effect of rousing and exalting the imagination. |
† 3. In Alchemy and early Chemistry: To raise (a substance or its qualities) to a higher ‘degree’; hence, in wider sense, to raise in quality, refine, mature; to intensify, render more powerful (physical agents or effects). Also fig.
| 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. x. in Ashm. (1652) 178 Then up to Hevyn they must Exaltyd be..to be intronyzate In Clowds of clerenesse. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. 8 A liquid Medicine whose Qualitie of heate is in the 4 degree exalted. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. i, Have I..Sublimed thee, and exalted thee, and fix'd thee I' the third region? 1691 Ray Creation (1714) 92 Other stones being exalted to that degree of Hardness. 1725–6 Pope Odyss. xxiv. 400 The hours produce their [vines'] latent buds, and Sol exalts the juice. 1744 Berkeley Siris §44 Oil, purified and exalted by the organical powers of the plant. 1762 Gentl. Mag. 269 The sun is known to exalt the poison of the viper. 1790 A. Crawford in Phil. Trans. LXXX. 402 A little strong vitriolic acid, by which the smell was exalted, and a slight effervescence was produced. 1795 Burke Regic. Peace iv. Wks. IX. 14 This is Jacobinism sublimed and exalted into most pure..essence. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 257 The seeds of plants exalted by cultivation. |
† b. To volatilize, carry off in vapour. Obs.
| 1686 W. Harris tr. Lemery's Chem. iii. iii. (ed. 3) 735 The fuliginosity which made it black will be exalted and leave the Harts-horn white. |
4. To raise in degree, intensify, heighten.
| 1842 W. Grove Corr. Phys. Forces 92 If this intensity be exalted to a certain point the sulphuret becomes luminous. 1859 Gullick & Timbs Paint. 202 They [varnishes] enliven or exalt the colours by their colourless transparency. 1870 Eng. Mech. 4 Feb. 512/2 To colour gold, or as it is technically called, to exalt the colour of gold. |
5. Astrol. in pass. of a heavenly body: To be in the position of greatest influence.
| 1647 Almanak for 1386, 2 The Son is exalted and raised uppe in þe 19 gre of þe Ram, þe Mone is exalted in þe 3 gre of þe Bul. 1652 Culpepper Eng. Physic. (1656) 48 Saturn being exalted in Libra, in the house of Venus. 1819 J. Wilson Dict. Astrol. s.v. Exaltation, If power may be deemed exaltation, all planets must be exalted when they arrive at their northern nodes, and advance towards our zenith. |
¶ 6. nonce-use. Of a deity: To grant (a prayer) [after OF. essalcier, F. exaucer].
| 1490 Caxton Eneydos xvi. (1890) 61 The god almyghty Iupyter..wolde exalte his requeste. |
▪ II. † eˈxalt, n. Obs.
[f. exalt v.]
The action of exalting; in quot. = exaltation 2 c.
| 1617 Markham Caval. vi. 2 To the exalt of the most seruiceable Beast that euer was created. |
▪ III. eˈxalt, pple.
short for exalted.
| 1871 Browning Pr. Hohenst. 1835 Bravest of the brave Doers, exalt in Science. 1873 ― Red Cott. Nt.-cap 1122 Out I stand Exalt and safe, and bid low earth adieu. |