Definition of ETHER

ether

Meanings

Plural: ether, ethers

Noun

  • the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies
  • any of a class of organic compounds that have two hydrocarbon groups linked by an oxygen atom
  • a medium that was once supposed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves
  • a colorless volatile highly inflammable liquid formerly used as an inhalation anesthetic
  • The 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 substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.
  • The sky, the heavens; the void, nothingness.
  • 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).
  • 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.
  • A particular quality created by or surrounding an object, person, or place; an atmosphere, an aura.
  • Diethyl ether (C₄H₁₀O), an organic compound with a sweet odour used in the past as an anaesthetic.
  • Any of a class of organic compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.
  • Starting fluid.
  • Alternative letter-case form of Ether.

Verb

  • To viciously humiliate or insult.
  • Alternative form of edder.

Origin / Etymology

From 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”).
The English word is cognate with Italian ether, ethera (both obsolete), etere, Middle Dutch ether (modern Dutch aether (obsolete), ether), German Äther, Ether, Portuguese éter, Spanish éter.

Synonyms

abase, abash, aether, bring low, confound, confuse, debase, degrade, demean, depress, diethyl ether, discomfit, disconcert, divinyl ether, embarrass, ethoxyethane, ethyl ether, humble, humiliate, lower, mortify, put to shame, quintessence, shame, vinyl ether

Scrabble Score: 8

ether is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
ether is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
ether is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

ether is a valid Words With Friends word