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ether
9 dictionary results for: ether
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
e·ther       [ee-ther] Pronunciation Key
–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 aethér 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-] Pronunciation Key, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
e·ther       (ē'thər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Any of a class of organic compounds in which two hydrocarbon groups are linked by an oxygen atom.
  2. A volatile, highly flammable liquid, C2H5OC2H5, derived from the distillation of ethyl alcohol with sulfuric acid and used as a reagent and solvent. It was formerly used as an anesthetic. Also called diethyl ether, ethyl ether.
  3. The regions of space beyond the earth's atmosphere; the heavens.
  4. The element believed in ancient and medieval civilizations to fill all space above the sphere of the moon and to compose the stars and planets.
  5. Physics An all-pervading, infinitely elastic, massless medium formerly postulated as the medium of propagation of electromagnetic waves.


[Middle English, upper air, from Latin aethēr, from Greek aithēr.]

e·ther'ic (ĭ-thěr'ĭk, ĭ-thîr'-) adj.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
ether

noun
1. the fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies [syn: quintessence] 
2. any of a class of organic compounds that have two hydrocarbon groups linked by an oxygen atom 
3. a medium that was once supposed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves 
4. a colorless volatile highly inflammable liquid formerly used as an inhalation anesthetic 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

ETHER language
A concurrent object-oriented language?
(1997-03-18)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ether

E"ther\, n. [L. aether, Gr. ?, fr. ? to light up, kindle, burn, blaze; akin to Skr. idh, indh, and prob. to E. idle: cf. F. ['e]ther.] [Written also [ae]ther.]

1. (Physics) 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. Supposed matter above the air; the air itself.

3. (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 powerful solvent of fats, resins, and pyroxylin, but finds its chief use as an an[ae]sthetic. Called also ethyl oxide.

(b) Any similar oxide of hydrocarbon radicals; as, amyl ether; valeric ether.

Complex ether, Mixed ether (Chem.), an oxide of two different radicals in the same molecule; as, ethyl methyl ether, C2H5.O.CH3.

Compound ether (Chem.), an ethereal salt or a salt of some hydrocarbon as the base; an ester.

Ether engine (Mach.), a condensing engine like a steam engine, but operated by the vapor of ether instead of by steam.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ether

Ether, talk

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
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