Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
Often in the phrase on cloud nine: a state of bliss, elation or happiness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic, uncountable
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A state of fantastic or impractical dreaming or thinking.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic, nonstandard, possibly, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a state of extreme happiness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: bliss, blissfulness, seventh heaven, walking on air
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: elation
Narrower terms: ecstasy, rapture
History
The origin of sense 1 (“a state of bliss”) is uncertain; however, the following etymology has been suggested: * The first edition of the International Cloud Atlas (1896), which defined ten types of cloud, described the ninth type as the cumulonimbus which rises to 10 km (6.2 miles), the highest a cloud can be. Compare cloud seven (“state of complete happiness or euphoria”), which may have originated from confusion of cloud nine with seventh heaven. Sense 2 (“a state of fantastic or impractical dreaming or thinking”) may be due to a confusion between sense 1 and the phrase head in the clouds.
Across languages
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.
