ether

Meaning

1. The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.
2. The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.
3. Often as aether and more fully as luminiferous aether: a substance once thought to fill all unoccupied space that allowed electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance to matter or energy; its existence was disproved by the 1887 Michelson–Morley experiment and the theory of relativity propounded by Albert Einstein (1879–1955).
4. (colloquial) The atmosphere or space as a medium for broadcasting radio and television signals; also, a notional space through which Internet and other digital communications take place; cyberspace.
5. (colloquial) A particular quality created by or surrounding an object, person, or place; an atmosphere, an aura.
6. Diethyl ether (C₄H₁₀O), an organic compound with a sweet odour used in the past as an anaesthetic.
7. Any of a class of organic compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.
8. Starting fluid.

aether

divinyl ether

vinyl ether

upper atmosphere

ethylether

diethy ether

ether extract

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈiː.θə/

From Middle English ēther (“the caelum aetherum of ancient cosmology in which the planets orbit; a shining, fluid substance described as a form of air or fire; air”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman ether and Middle French ether, ethere, aether, from Old French aether (“highest and purest part of the atmosphere; medium supposedly filling the upper regions of space”) (modern French éther), or directly from its etymon Latin aethēr (“highest and purest part of the atmosphere; air; heavens, sky; light of day; ethereal matter surrounding a deity”) (note also New Latin aethēr (“chemical compound analogous to diethyl ether”)), from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “purer upper air of the atmosphere; heaven, sky; theoretical medium supposed to fill unoccupied space and transmit heat and light”), from αἴθω (aíthō, “to burn, ignite; to blaze, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- (“to burn; fire”). The English word is cognate with Italian ether, ethera (both obsolete), etere, Middle Dutch ether (modern Dutch aether (obsolete), ether), German Äther, Ether, Portuguese éter, Spanish éter.