Ether

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈiːθə/
• US IPA: /ˈiː.θɚ/

Alternative forms

• aether British spelling, obsolete in chemistry
• æther dated British spelling
• aethyr, ethyr archaic spellings

Origin

From Old French ether, from Latin aethēr ("the upper pure, bright air"), from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ ("upper air"), from αἴθω ("I burn, shine").

Full definition of ether

Noun

1. (organic compound, countable) A compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.
2. (organic compound, uncountable) Diethyl ether (C₄H₁₀O), a compound used as an early anaesthetic.
3. (ancient philosophy and alchemy, uncountable) A classical physical element, considered as prevalent in the heavens and inaccessible to humans. In some versions of alchemy, this was the fifth element in addition to air, earth, fire and water.
4. (archaic, physics, uncountable) A substance (aether) once thought to fill all space that allowed electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance to matter or energy (disproved by Einstein in his Theory of Relativity).
• 2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, Obama's once hip brand is now tainted, Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
5. (poetic or literary) The sky or heavens; the upper air.

Derived terms

• crown ether
• lariat ether
• petroleum ether
• pyroacetic ether
• sulfur ether, sulphur ether

Verb

1. The battle rapper ethered his opponent and caused him to slink away in shame.
• 2014-02-26, HS Coach Gets Ethered By Girlfriend On FB, Resigns Amid Investigation

Origin

Hip hop slang. Originates from song by Nas, Ether (song). See Ether_(song)#Significance.

Anagrams

• Reeth, theer, there, three