In common use, sublime is an adjective meaning "awe-inspiringly grand, excellent, or impressive," like the best chocolate fudge sundae you've ever had.

Can a person be described as sublime?

More figuratively, a somewhat old-fashioned verb meaning of sublime refers to the act of elevating something to a more venerable, refined, or wholesome state. This use suggests that a person or object that was once either average or inferior in some way has been transformed into something of higher worth.

Is sublime a compound word?

Our words sublime and sublimation are based on the Latin word sublimis, a compound of sub- “under; up to” and limin “threshold”, so etymologically having the sense of “as high as the top of a door”. It could literally mean “lofty; raised up” but also had a figurative sense in Latin of “exalted; eminent, aspiring”.