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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

on high en · ADP

Pronunciation

  • /ɑn ˈhaɪ/ (General-American)
  • (Australia) audio
  • /ɒn ˈhaɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English on heigh, on an heigh (“in or into heaven; up to heaven”) [and other forms], from Old English on hēagum (“on high”); hēagum is an inflected form of hēah (“high; tall”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kewk- (“height; to elevate”). The English word is equivalent to on + high. Compare Dutch omhoog (“upwards, on high”), West Frisian omheech (“upwards”).

Meanings

  1. To a high position; or up in, or to, the sky; above.
    • So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky, / They cannot see the Sun on high; / The wind hath blown a gale all day, / At evening it hath died away. 1796–1798 (date written; published 1802), Robert Southey, “The Inchcape Rock”, in The Poetical Works of Robert Southey. […], volume VI, London: […] [Andrew Spottiswoode] for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], published 1838, →OCLC, page 137:
    • His [a horse's] back would be so glossy, / His sides so smooth and brown, / I'd have to hold his collar / To keep from slipping down! / And jogging on the roadway, / The people passing by / Would turn to smile at Bonny / With me set up on high. c. 1920s–1930s, Elizabeth Fleming, “The Ploughman”, in School Journal, volume 32, Wellington, New Zealand: School Publications Branch, Department of Education, published 1938, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 112:
  2. (literary, specifically) Up in, or to, Heaven.
    • The trumpet ſhall be heard on high, / The dead ſhall live, the living die, / And Muſic ſhall untune the ſky. 1687, John Dryden, “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume II, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 271:
    • Who is like vnto the Lord our God: who dwelleth on high: […] 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 113:5, column 1:
  3. (humorous) In authority, influence, or power.
    • According to those on high, taxes need to increase again.

Synonyms

aloft · ahigh

Translations (12)

ga suas (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · io supre (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · sa बृहत् (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · grc ὑψοῦ (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · nl omhoog (up in, or to, Heaven) · ppl ajku (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · grc ὕψι (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · la altē (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · ru свысока́ (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · ta ஏற (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft) · sv i höjden (up in, or to, Heaven) · nl omhoog (to a high position; or up in, or to, the sky — see also above, aloft)