transcendental

== English == === Etymology === The adjective is a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin transcendentālis + English -al (suffix meaning of or relating to forming adjectives; and forming nouns, especially of verbal action). Transcendentālis is derived from Latin trānscendentem + ‑ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); and trānscendentem is the accusative singular form of trānscendēns (“exceeding, surpassing, transcending”), the present active participle of trānscendō (“to climb, cross, pass, or step over; to exceed, surpass, transcend”), from trāns- (prefix meaning ‘across; beyond; through’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- (“to cross over; to overcome; to pass through”)) + scandō (“to ascend, climb; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to ascend; to jump up”)). The noun is derived from the adjective. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌtɹæn(t)s(ɛ)nˈdɛntl̩/, /ˌtɹɑːn-/, [-zɛn-] (General American) IPA(key): /ˌtɹænˌ(t)sɛnˈdɛntl̩/, /-(t)s(ə)n-/, [-ɾl̩] Rhymes: -ɛntəl Hyphenation: trans‧en‧dent‧al === Adjective === transcendental (comparative more transcendental, superlative most transcendental) Synonym of transcendent (“surpassing usual limits; excelling; extraordinary”). Synonym: surpassing (philosophy) In the philosophy of Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.): synonym of transcendent (“transcending or extending beyond a single category”); also, synonym of metaphysical (“of or relating to the basic structure of reality”). In the philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) or similar philosophies: concerned with the a priori or intuitive basis of knowledge, independent of experience. In the philosophy associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882): of or relating to transcendentalism (“a philosophy which stresses intuition and spirituality”). (by extension) Beyond one's ordinary experience; extraordinary. Existing in the imagination; abstract, conceptual. Mystical, superhuman, supernatural. Synonym: superrational (mathematics) Antonym: algebraic Hypernym: irrational (algebra, field theory) Of an element of an extension field: not algebraic, that is, not the root of any polynomial that has positive degree and rational coefficients; also, of an extension field: that contains elements which are not algebraic. (number theory) Of a function or number: not algebraic. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === transcendental (plural transcendentals) A thing which is transcendental (all adjective senses). (Christian theology, metaphysics, philosophy (specifically Platonism), chiefly in the plural) Any one of the transcendental properties of being, especially beauty, goodness, and truth—which are respectively the ideals of art, religion, and science, and thus the principal subjects of the study of aesthetics, ethics, and logic. (mathematics) An element of an extension field, an extension field, a function, or a number which is not algebraic. (obsolete) Synonym of transcendentalist (“one who believes in transcendentalism; a philosopher who asserts that true knowledge is obtained by faculties of the mind that transcend sensory experience”). ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === transcendence on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == German == === Adjective === transcendental (strong nominative masculine singular transcendentaler, comparative transcendentaler, superlative am transcendentalsten) obsolete spelling of transzendental ==== Declension ==== == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French transcendantal, from Latin transcendentalis. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌtrans.t͡ʃe.denˈtal/ === Adjective === transcendental m or n (feminine singular transcendentală, masculine plural transcendentali, feminine/neuter plural transcendentale) transcendental ==== Declension ==== == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /tɾansθendenˈtal/ [t̪ɾãns.θẽn̪.d̪ẽn̪ˈt̪al] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain) IPA(key): /tɾansendenˈtal/ [t̪ɾãn.sẽn̪.d̪ẽn̪ˈt̪al] (Latin America, Philippines) Rhymes: -al Syllabification: trans‧cen‧den‧tal === Adjective === transcendental m or f (masculine and feminine plural transcendentales) transcendental === Further reading === “transcendental”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025