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aether

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Aether
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ae⋅ther

  [ee-ther]
Use aether in a Sentence
–noun
1. ether (defs. 3–5).
2. (initial capital letter) the ancient Greek personification of the clear upper air of the sky.
Related forms:
ae⋅the⋅re⋅al  [i-theer-ee-uhl] , ae⋅ther⋅ic  [i-ther-ik] , adjective
Aether
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e⋅ther

  [ee-ther]
–noun
1. Also called diethyl ether, diethyl oxide, ethyl ether, ethyl oxide, sulfuric ether. Chemistry, Pharmacology. a colorless, highly volatile, flammable liquid, C4H10O, having an aromatic odor and sweet, burning taste, derived from ethyl alcohol by the action of sulfuric acid: used as a solvent and, formerly, as an inhalant anesthetic.
2. Chemistry. (formerly) one of a class of compounds in which two organic groups are attached directly to an oxygen atom, having the general formula ROR.
3. the upper regions of space; the clear sky; the heavens.
4. the medium supposed by the ancients to fill the upper regions of space.
5. Physics. a hypothetical substance supposed to occupy all space, postulated to account for the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through space.
Also, aether (for defs. 3–5).

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L aethēr the upper air, pure air, ether < Gk aithr, akin to aíthein to glow, burn, OE ād funeral pyre, L aestus heat

Related forms:
e⋅ther⋅ic  [i-ther-ik, i-theer-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To aether
Ae·ther   (ē'thər)   
n.   Greek Mythology
The poetic personification of the clear upper air breathed by the Olympians.

[Latin Aethēr, from Greek aithēr, upper air.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ether 
1398, from L. æther "the upper pure, bright air," from Gk. aither "upper air," from aithein "to burn, shine," from I.E. base *aidh- "to burn" (cf. Skt. inddhe "burst into flames," O.Ir. aed "fire," L. aedes, see edify). In ancient cosmology, the element that filled all space beyond the sphere of the moon, constituting the substance of the stars and planets. Conceived of as a purer form of fire or air, or as a fifth element. From 17c.-19c., it was the scientific word for an assumed "frame of reference" for forces in the universe, perhaps without material properties. The concept was shaken by the Michelson-Morley experiment (1887) and discarded after the Theory of Relativity won acceptance, but before it went it gave rise to the colloquial use of ether for "the radio" (1899). The name also was bestowed 1757 on a volatile chemical compound for its lightness and lack of color (its anesthetic properties weren't fully established until 1842).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ether
Pronunciation: 'E-th&r
Function: noun
1 : a medium that in the wave theory of light permeates all space and transmitstransverse waves
2 a : a light volatile flammable liquid C4H10O used especially formerly chiefly as an anesthetic called also diethyl ether, ethylether, ethyl oxide b : any of various organic compounds characterized by an oxygen atom attached to two carbon atoms
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

ether e·ther (ē'thər)
n.

  1. Any of a class of organic compounds in which two hydrocarbon groups are linked by an oxygen atom.

  2. An anesthetic ether, especially diethyl ether.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
ether   (ē'thər)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. An organic compound in which two hydrocarbon groups are linked by an oxygen atom, having the general structure ROR', where R and R' are the two hydrocarbon groups. At room temperature, ethers are pleasant-smelling liquids resembling alcohols but less dense and less soluble in water. Ethers are part of many naturally occurring organic compounds, such as starches and sugars, and are widely used in industry and in making pharmaceuticals.

  2. A colorless, flammable liquid used as a solvent and formerly used as an anesthetic. Ether consists of two ethyl groups joined by an oxygen atom. Also called diethyl ether, ethyl ether. Chemical formula: C4H10O.

  3. A hypothetical medium formerly believed to permeate all space, and through which light and other electromagnetic radiation were thought to move. The existence of ether was disproved by the American physicists Albert Michelson and Edward Morley in 1887.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

aether

in physics, a theoretical, universal substance believed during the 19th century to act as the medium for transmission of electromagnetic waves (e.g., light and X rays) much as sound waves are transmitted by elastic media such as air. The ether was assumed to be weightless, transparent, frictionless, undetectable chemically or physically, and literally permeating all matter and space. The theory met with increasing difficulties as the nature of light and the structure of matter became better understood; it was seriously weakened (1881) by the Michelson-Morley experiment (q.v.), which was designed specifically to detect the motion of the Earth through the ether and which showed that there was no such effect

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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