Empyreumata

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A celestial or ethereal sphere believed in ancient cosmology to be the highest or most divine level of heaven
2. The region of pure fire and light associated with the abode of the gods
3. A philosophical concept denoting the ultimate reality or supreme state in metaphysics

Etymology: The word in question is actually the plural of "empyreuma," and the meaning given for it (a celestial sphere, the highest heaven) belongs to "empyrean," not to "empyreuma." The two are easily confused because they share a Greek root, but "empyreuma" itself refers to a scorched or burnt smell and taste, the odour produced when organic matter is charred, such as oil or sugar overheated in a pan. The Greek source is "empúreuma," meaning "a live coal covered with ashes," built from "en" (in) and "pŷr" (fire). Its heavenly relative, "empyrean," came into English as a term for the highest heaven, the realm of pure fire in older cosmology, drawn from the same Greek fire-root but following a separate path. French "empyreume" carried the scorched-smell sense into the language of chemistry, which is where the word is most often met today.