Word origin · etymology
Latin-derived noun.
From exaltare, to lift high, with altus, high. The traditional dignity name uses a metaphor of elevation.
How we know · epistemology
Historical dignity assignment
The designation expresses an inherited evaluative rule, not physical height above the horizon. Its symbolic status cannot establish superior character or override the other conditions in a chart.
William Lilly: Christian Astrology (1647), p. 102, original text ↗
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