ether
The medium breathed by human beingsThe substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.: The medium breathed by human beings; the air.
» The plane seemed to just disappear into the ether.
Das Flugzeug schien schlichtweg im Äther zu verschwinden.
Meaning
8 sensesThe substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.
(broadly, countable, literary, poetic, uncountable)The medium breathed by human beings; the air.
Äther, Ether
эфи́рefír
ефі́рefír, ете́рetér
(broadly, countable, literary, poetic, uncountable)The sky, the heavens; the void, nothingness.
(historical, uncountable)Often as aether and more fully as luminiferous aether: The hypothetical substance permeating space, functioning as a medium for electromagnetic waves to propagate through, and which does not exert resistance to the movement of matter; its existence is incompatible with Einstein's theory of relativity; famously found to be undetectable by the 1887 Michelson–Morley experiment.
(colloquial, uncountable)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.
(colloquial, uncountable)A particular quality created by or surrounding an object, person, or place; an atmosphere, an aura.
(uncountable)Diethyl ether (C₄H₁₀O), an organic compound with a sweet odour used in the past as an anaesthetic.
эфи́рefír
діетилете́рdietyletér
(countable)Any of a class of organic compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.
Äther, Ether
эфи́рefír
ефі́рefír, ете́рetér
any of a class of organic compounds that have two hydrocarbon groups linked by an oxygen atom
(uncountable)Starting fluid.
Examples
1 sentencesThe plane seemed to just disappear into the ether.
deDas Flugzeug schien schlichtweg im Äther zu verschwinden.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English ēther (“the caelum aetherum of ancient cosmology in which the planetsFrom 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”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: ethersSynonyms
7 synonyms- a colorless volatile highly flammable liquid formerly used as an inhalation anesthetic:ethoxyethanedivinyl ethervinyl etherdiethyl etherethyl ether
- a medium that was once supposed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves:aether
- the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies:quintessence
Word family
61 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable