Shangri-La

noun
/ˌʃæŋɡɹɪˈlɑː/

Etymology

From a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton (1900–1954): see the quotation below. A Tibetan origin has been suggested, from ཞང (zhang, “name of a district of Ü-Tsang”) + རི (ri, “mountain”) + ལ (la, “pass”), therefore meaning "Mountain Pass of Zhang District".

Definitions

  1. A place or land of complete bliss, delight, and peace, especially one seen as an escape…

    A place or land of complete bliss, delight, and peace, especially one seen as an escape from ordinary life; a paradise.

    • The length of the journey gives a measure of the anachronism, which as [César] Vallejo said in one of his stories made the hill town a Shangri-La, forgotten by the rest of Peru.
    • With the fragmented policy-making system which results, America is a Shangri-La for interest groups and lobbyists.
  2. An opulent building or resort that provides entertainment or luxurious living.

  3. Former name of Camp David.

  4. + 1 more definition
    1. Alternative letter-case form of Shangri-La.

      • He couldn't believe it when he'd discovered there actually was a town called Bedford Falls. It seemed like fans of the film had all collected there to live out their lives in a self-created 1940s American Shangri-la.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for Shangri-La. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA