Ether vs. Aether
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.
Aethernoun
See Ether.
Aethernoun
personification of the sky or upper air breathed by the Olympians; son of Erebus and Night or of Chaos and Darkness
Aethernoun
a medium that was once supposed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves
