Ester vs. Ether

Esternoun

(organic compound) A compound most often formed by the condensation of an alcohol and an acid, with elimination of water, which contains the functional group carbon-oxygen double bond joined via carbon to another oxygen atom.

Esternoun

An ethereal salt, or compound ether, consisting of an organic radical united with the residue of any oxygen acid, organic or inorganic; thus the natural fats are esters of glycerin and the fatty acids, oleic, etc.

Esternoun

formed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water

Ester

An ester is a chemical compound derived from an acid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one –OH hydroxyl group is replaced by an –O– alkyl (alkoxy) group, as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides are fatty acid esters of glycerol; they are important in biology, being one of the main classes of lipids and comprising the bulk of animal fats and vegetable oils.

Ethernoun

The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.

Ethernoun

(by extension) The medium breathed by human beings; the air.

Ethernoun

(by extension) The sky, the heavens; the void, nothingness.

Ethernoun

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).

Ethernoun

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.

Ethernoun

A particular quality created by or surrounding an object, person, or place; an atmosphere, an aura.

Ethernoun

Diethyl ether (C4H10O), an organic compound with a sweet odour used in the past as an anaesthetic.

Ethernoun

Any of a class of organic compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.

Etherverb

To viciously humiliate or insult.

Ethernoun

A medium of great elasticity and extreme tenuity, once supposed to pervade all space, the interior of solid bodies not excepted, and to be the medium of transmission of light and heat; hence often called luminiferous ether. It is no longer believed that such a medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic waves; the modern use of the term is mostly a figurative term for empty space, or for literary effect, and not intended to imply the actual existence of a physical medium. However. modern cosmological theories based on quantum field theory do not rule out the possibility that the inherent energy of the vacuum is greater than zero, in which case the concept of an ether pervading the vacuum may have more than metaphoric meaning.

Ethernoun

Supposed matter above the air; the air itself.

Ethernoun

A light, volatile, mobile, inflammable liquid, (C2H5)2O, of a characteristic aromatic odor, obtained by the distillation of alcohol with sulphuric acid, and hence called also sulphuric ether. It is a powerful solvent of fats, resins, and pyroxylin, but finds its chief use as an anæsthetic. Commonly called ethyl ether to distinguish it from other ethers, and also ethyl oxide.

Ethernoun

a colorless volatile highly inflammable liquid formerly used as an inhalation anesthetic

Ethernoun

the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies

Ethernoun

any of a class of organic compounds that have two hydrocarbon groups linked by an oxygen atom

Ethernoun

a medium that was once supposed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves

Ether

Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula R–O–R′, where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups.