ether

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“
When diluted with water and shaken with ether, there was no visible turbidity in the supernatant ether, and when a drop of the ether was allowed to evaporate on a glass slide, only a few isolated crystals could be seen.

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Definitions (36)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun Any of a class of organic compounds in which two hydrocarbon groups are linked by an oxygen atom.
  2. noun A volatile, highly flammable liquid, C2H5OC2H5, derived from the distillation of ethyl alcohol with sulfuric acid and used as a reagent and solvent. It was formerly used as an anesthetic. Also called diethyl ether, ethyl ether.
  3. noun The regions of space beyond the earth's atmosphere; the heavens.
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Examples (50)

  • In ways which we cannot fathom, the ether is at the foundation of our physical being. —  The Life Radiant
  • Thus in the case of wireless telegraphy the vibratory action of the ether is a purely mechanical process and does not carry emotion, thought, or intelligence with it--being vibration pure and simple. —  The Problems of Psychical Research Experiments and Theories in the Realm of the Supernormal
  • I have told you that the ether is a fourth-order substance--this also is a fourth-order substance, but it is crystalline, whereas the ether is probably fluid and amorphous. —  Skylark Three
  • It is true that the notion of the ether has been abandoned by some modern physicists, but, whether or not it is ultimately dispensed with, the conception of the ether has entered so deeply into the scientific mind that the science of physics cannot be understood unless we know something about the properties attributed to the ether. —  The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) A Plain Story Simply Told
  • As liberated spirits we move in an essence subtler than any matter known to you--ether is a gross thing compared to spirit. —  The Tyranny of the Dark
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, upper air, from Latin aethēr, from Greek aithēr.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Also æther; = French éther = Provencal ether = Spanish eter = Portuguese ether = Italian etere = Dutch ether = German äther = Danish æther = Swedish eter, from Latin æther, from Greek αἰθήρ, the upper, purer air (opposed to ἀήρ, the lower air), hence heaven, the abode of the gods; also the blue sky (cf. αἰθρα, αἰθρη, the clear sky, fair weather), from αῖθειν, kindle, burn, glow: see estive, estival.
 

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/ˈiθər/
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