Etymology

Noun

1. An originally copyrighted name for stuffing material (as for furniture and mattresses) made of slender, curled wood shavings, as a substitute for hair.
   • 1942, Elliot Paul, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Sickle Moon 2001, p. 91:

     These little mangers, with baby dolls representing Jesus, porcelean Josephs and Marys, wide-eyed cows of papier-mâché, and excelsior for straw, were purchased by pious parents for well-behaved children at Christmas-tide.

Usage notes

• This word is sometimes thought to be an adverb, which, perhaps, is inspired by the sounding quite adverbish common "ever upward" translation from Latin.
• "Excelsior!" is the motto of the state of New York.