# In Excelsis Deo: How to pronounce it and what does it mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183 "2003-12-20T16:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Vaevictis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vaevictis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaevictis)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/41 "2010-12-14T17:46:46Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > That’s just not true. The difficulty lies in getting 21st-century English speakers to (1) agree on which Latin (time and place) to pronounce and (2) to agree to go through the effort of rendering it “correctly” when both Excel Sis and Eggshell Sis work pretty well for performance purposes. We know a lot about how to pronounce Classical Latin, but we don’t have a full understanding – there are a number of tricky points on which we are just not sure. But we have a good general picture. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/42 "2010-12-14T18:39:48Z")
> [@Vaevictis](#): > > We know a lot about how to pronounce Classical Latin, but we don’t have a full understanding – there are a number of tricky points on which we are just not sure. But we have a good general picture. Agreed, but it is an awfully long way from **boofy\_bloke’s** “no-one knows how to pronounce Latin” (0% knowledge) to your “there are a number of tricky points on which we are just not sure” (what, 95%? 92%?). ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/43 "2010-12-15T02:46:50Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > please tell me i am not the only person now having the [Banana Boat Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpg-KIKD5gU) as an ear worm? Here’s the antidote (Stan Freberg’s version) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PBO7YE7vjE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PBO7YE7vjE) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/44 "2010-12-15T04:02:34Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Here’s the antidote (Stan Freberg’s version) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PBO7YE7vjE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PBO7YE7vjE) Now if I could only find Flight of the Bumblebee on sousaphone _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/45 "2010-12-15T09:15:33Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > “in excelsis deo” by itself just means “to god in the highest”, it dosen’t say what. I always seen it translated as “glory to god in the highest skies” ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/46 "2010-12-15T10:17:49Z")
I’m guessing you’ve seen it translated into a French expression, which you are now transliterating into English as “glory to God in the highest skies” SFAIK, the _-cel_ element of _excelsis_ is cognate with the French _ciel_, which translates into English as “sky” or “heaven”, according to context. I think in this context “. . . in the highest heaven” might be a better translation than “in the highest skies”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/47 "2010-12-15T10:17:53Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I always seen it translated as “glory to god in the highest skies” Well, it’s usually preceded by Gloria. And, yes, the word skies or heavens is implied by using _excelsis_ alone. ---
**Author:** ![Vaevictis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vaevictis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaevictis)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/48 "2010-12-17T15:08:04Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Agreed, but it is an awfully long way from **boofy\_bloke’s** “no-one knows how to pronounce Latin” (0% knowledge) to your “there are a number of tricky points on which we are just not sure” (what, 95%? 92%?). You get my point exactly. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/49 "2010-12-17T16:45:01Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Now if I could only find Flight of the Bumblebee on sousaphone _sigh_ Sure. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tyQeYctaea4/hqdefault.jpg "Patrick Sheridan Flight of the Bumblebee") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyQeYctaea4) Okay, it’s a rather colorful tuba, will that suffice? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/50 "2010-12-17T16:57:32Z")
My high school choir teacher ranted that we were singing, not having breakfast so there are NO egg shells in _Angels we have Heard on High_ She pronounced it excel sis deo. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/51 "2010-12-17T17:22:28Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Sure. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyQeYctaea4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyQeYctaea4) > > Okay, it’s a rather colorful tuba, will that suffice? yay 😃 thanks! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/52 "2010-12-17T18:37:02Z")
Wow. A zombie thread is not only allowed to continue, but also made Threadspotting. Excuse me while I go buy a lottery ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/53 "2010-12-17T18:45:49Z")
> [@rwsmith29456](#): > > I’ve sung under many fine directors over the last 35 years or so and studied singing for 20 years. Every few years I have to revise how I sing ‘In Excelsis Deo’ because everybody says the ‘right’ way is something different. Day-O has always been the same, but this year it was EEN eggshellsees Deo. First time in 35 years anyone has said to say ‘EEN’. I took classical Latin in HS and college but am aware that this has NOTHING to do with liturgical Latin. I would consider some old time, hard core, Catholics to be in the know on this but I’ve never heard an authoritative pronunciation that stayed the same for any length of time. I think I’ll write the Pope. EEN would have nothing to do with Latin and everything to do with voice production, I should think. 'Least, my singing teacher taught me there were just five vowel sounds: ah, eh, ee, oh, oo. “I” as in “in” doesn’t fit any of these exactly, but has to be substituted by the nearest-approximation vowel from that list, and “ee” is the closest. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/54 "2010-12-17T21:23:47Z")
“In eggshell cheeses, mayo.” It’s a recipe for deviled eggs. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/55 "2010-12-18T03:48:25Z")
een ek shell cease day o ---
**Author:** ![yawuntz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a5b964/32.png) [@yawuntz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawuntz)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/56 "2010-12-18T05:02:15Z")
Don’t know nothin’ 'bout no liturgical Latin… All’s I gots is 3 years of high school Latin and AFAIK the C is pronounced as a K, without exception. Oh and to get rid of that day-o earworm, this old fave… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hC8ROZ4INnQ/hqdefault.jpg "Day-O (Taliban Song) - 'Music video'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC8ROZ4INnQ) ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/57 "2010-12-18T05:02:17Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > EEN would have nothing to do with Latin and everything to do with voice production, I should think. 'Least, my singing teacher taught me there were just five vowel sounds: ah, eh, ee, oh, oo. “I” as in “in” doesn’t fit any of these exactly, but has to be substituted by the nearest-approximation vowel from that list, and “ee” is the closest. There are a lot more than five vowel sounds in singing. There is absolutely no reason to teach singers that they can’t sing \*. It may be easier to blend in a choir, but that’s no excuse for only using those five. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/58 "2010-12-18T08:01:20Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > [ul] > [li]In Eggs-shell-sis[/li][li]In Eggs-sell-sis[/li][li]In Eggs-sell-shis[/li][/ul] [ul] wrong wrong and wrong [/ul] Eeeen ecks chail cease day oh. No freakin’ eggshells!!! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/59 "2010-12-18T08:31:28Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > There are a lot more than five vowel sounds in singing. There is absolutely no reason to teach singers that they can’t sing \*. It may be easier to blend in a choir, but that’s no excuse for only using those five. Take it up with my singing teacher (who was teaching soloists) and don’t shoot the messenger, dude. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183/60 "2010-12-18T13:14:12Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Take it up with my singing teacher (who was teaching soloists) and don’t shoot the messenger, dude. That was my intent (to take issue with your teacher, not you). Sorry if it came off otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-excelsis-deo-how-to-pronounce-it-and-what-does-it-mean/220183.md?page=4)