| 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. |
r, akin to aíthein to glow, burn, OE ād funeral pyre, L aestus heat
di·eth·yl ether (dī-ěth'əl) n. See ether. |
diethyl ether di·eth·yl ether (dī-ěth'əl)
n.
A pungent, volatile, highly flammable liquid derived from the distillation of ethyl alcohol with sulfuric acid and widely used as an inhalation anesthetic. Also called ethyl ether, ethyl oxide, sulfuric ether.
ether e·ther (ē'thər)
n.
Any of a class of organic compounds in which two hydrocarbon groups are linked by an oxygen atom.
An anesthetic ether, especially diethyl ether.
| diethyl ether (dī-ěth'əl) Pronunciation Key
See ether. |
ether (ē'thər) Pronunciation Key
|
diethyl ether
well-known anesthetic, commonly called simply ether, an organic compound belonging to a large group of compounds called ethers; its molecular structure consists of two ethyl groups linked through an oxygen atom, as in C2H5OC2H5.
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