What does ether mean?

Definitions for ether
ˈi θərether

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ether.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. quintessence, ethernoun

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

  2. ethernoun

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

  3. ether, aethernoun

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

  4. ether, ethoxyethane, divinyl ether, vinyl ether, diethyl ether, ethyl ethernoun

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

GCIDE

  1. Ethernoun

    (Physics) 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.

  2. Ethernoun

    (Chem.) (a) 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 an

Wiktionary

  1. ethernoun

    A compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.

  2. ethernoun

    Diethyl ether (CHO), a compound used as an early anaesthetic.

  3. ethernoun

    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. ethernoun

    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).

  5. ethernoun

    The sky or heavens; the upper air.

  6. Ethernoun

    The ancient American prophet of Mormon theology who wrote the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. ETHERnoun

    Etymology: æther, Latin; ἄιϑηϱ.

    If any one should suppose that ether, like our air, may contain particles which endeavour to recede from one another; for I do not know what this ether is; and that its particles are exceedingly smaller than those of air, or even than those of light, the exceeding smallness of its particles may contribute to the greatness of the force, by which those particles may recede from one another. Isaac Newton, Opt.

    The parts of other bodies are held together by the eternal pressure of the ether, and can have no other conceivable cause of their cohesion and union. John Locke.

    There fields of light and liquid ether flow,
    Purg’d from the pond’rous dregs of earth below. Dryden.

Wikipedia

  1. Ether

    In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of 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. Ethers can again be classified into two varieties: if the alkyl or aryl groups are the same on both sides of the oxygen atom, then it is a simple or symmetrical ether, whereas if they are different, the ethers are called mixed or unsymmetrical ethers. A typical example of the first group is the solvent and anaesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether" (CH3−CH2−O−CH2−CH3). Ethers are common in organic chemistry and even more prevalent in biochemistry, as they are common linkages in carbohydrates and lignin.

ChatGPT

  1. ether

    Ether refers to several concepts including: 1) Chemistry: a class of organic compounds characterized by an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups; commonly used as solvents. 2) Physics: a hypothetical medium thought in the past to permeate all space and to be the medium through which light and other electromagnetic waves propagated. 3) Blockchain Technology: a type of digital currency, used in the Ethereum blockchain as the transaction fees for operations. 4) Medicine: a clear, colorless liquid used primarily as a surgical anesthetic in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 5) Metaphysics: often referred to as the fifth element (along with earth, air, fire, water), it represents the sense of joy, spiritual transcendence, and the realms beyond visible reality. The definition varies based on the context in which it is used.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Ethernoun

    a medium of great elasticity and extreme tenuity, 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

  2. Ethernoun

    supposed matter above the air; the air itself

  3. 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 powerful solvent of fats, resins, and pyroxylin, but finds its chief use as an anaesthetic. Called also ethyl oxide

  4. Ethernoun

    any similar oxide of hydrocarbon radicals; as, amyl ether; valeric ether

  5. Etymology: [L. aether, Gr. a'iqh`r, fr. a'i`qein to light up, kindle, burn, blaze; akin to Skr. idh, indh, and prob. to E. idle: cf. F. ther.]

Wikidata

  1. Ether

    Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether". Ethers are common in organic chemistry and pervasive in biochemistry, as they are common linkages in carbohydrates and lignin.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Ether

    ē′thėr, n. the clear, upper air: the subtile medium supposed to fill all space: a colourless, transparent, volatile liquid of great mobility and high refractive power, and possessing a fragrant odour and a fiery, passing to a cooling, taste.—adj. Ethē′real, consisting of ether: heavenly: airy: spirit-like.—n. Etherealisā′tion.—v.t. Ethē′realise, to convert into ether, or the fluid ether: to render spirit-like.—n. Ethereal′ity.—adv. Ethē′really.—adj. Ethē′reous (Milt.), ethereal.—n. Etherificā′tion.—adj. E′theriform.—n. Etherisā′tion.—v.t. E′therise, to convert into ether: to stupefy with ether.—n. E′therism, the condition induced by using ether. [L.,—Gr. aithēr, aithein, to light up.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Ether

    a volatic liquid prepared from the distillation of alcohol and sulphuric acid at high temperature; is colourless, and emits a sweet, penetrating odour; is highly combustible; a useful solvent, and an important anæsthetic.

  2. Ether

    a subtle element presumed to pervade all interstellar space, vibrations in which are assumed to account for the transmission of light and all radiant energy.

The Standard Electrical Dictionary

  1. Ether

    The ether is a hypothetical thing that was invented to explain the phenomena of light. Light is theoretically due to transverse vibrations of the ether. Since the days of Young the conception of the ether has extended, and now light, "radiant heat," and electricity are all treated as phenomena of the ether. Electrical attraction and repulsion are explained by considering them due to local stresses in the ether; magnetic phenomena as due to local whirlpools therein. The ether was originally called the luminiferous ether, but the adjective should now be dropped. Its density is put at 936E-21 that of water, or equal to that of the atmosphere at 210 miles above the earth's surface. Its rigidity is about 1E-9 that of steel (see Ten, Powers of); as a whole it is comparable to an all-pervading jelly, with almost perfect elasticity. The most complete vacuum is filled with ether. All this is a hypothesis, for the ether has never been proved to exist. Whether gravitation will ever be explained by It remains to be seen. [Transcriber's note: The Michelson-Morley experiment in 1887 (five years before this book) cast serious doubt on the ether. In 1905 Einstein explained electromagnetic phenomenon with photons. In 1963 Edward M. Purcell used special relativity to derive the existence of magnetism and radiation.]

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz

  1. ETHER

    One of the world's three great composers--the others being Gas and Chloroform--whose airs are popular among the suffering.

Suggested Resources

  1. ether

    Song lyrics by ether -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ether on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. ETHER

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ether is ranked #145220 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Ether surname appeared 114 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Ether.

    60.5% or 69 total occurrences were White.
    32.4% or 37 total occurrences were Black.

Anagrams for ether »

  1. Reeth

  2. theer

  3. there

  4. three

  5. rethe

How to pronounce ether?

How to say ether in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of ether in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of ether in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of ether in a Sentence

  1. Chris Weston:

    Crypto is where the fast money is at, (Ether) is trending like a dream and I’d be long and strong here.

  2. Hunter S Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:

    There is nothing more helpless and irresponsible than a man in the depths of an ether binge.

  3. Tim Squirrell:

    The consequence of that is that you can never complete the game of whack-a-mole, there's always going to be somewhere, someone circulating a Google Drive link or a Samsung cloud link or something else that allows people to access this... Once it's out in the ether, it's impossible to take everything down.

  4. H.S. Thompson:

    Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether.

  5. Edna St. Vincent Millay:

    Soar, eat ether, see what has never been seen depart, be lost, but climb.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

ether#10000#18222#100000

Translations for ether

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"ether." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ether>.

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