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Webster 1913 Edition

Ethereal

E-the′re-al

,
Adj.
1.
Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial;
as,
ethereal
space;
ethereal
regions.
Go, heavenly guest,
ethereal
messenger.
Milton.
2.
Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
Vast chain of being, which from God began,
Natures
ethereal
, human, angel, man.
Pope.
3.
(Chem.)
Pertaining to, derived from, or resembling, ether;
as,
ethereal
salts
.
Ethereal oil
.
(Chem.)
See
Essential oil
, under
Essential
.
–
Ethereal oil of wine
(Chem.)
,
a heavy, yellow, oily liquid consisting essentially of etherin, etherol, and ethyl sulphate. It is the oily residuum left after etherification. Called also
heavy oil of wine
(distinguished from oil of wine, or œnanthic ether).
–
Ethereal salt
(Chem.)
,
a salt of some organic radical as a base; an ester.

Webster 1828 Edition

Ethereal

ETHE'REAL

,
Adj.
Formed of ether; containing or filled with ether; as ethereal space; ethereal regions.
1.
Heavenly; celestial; as ethereal messenger.
2.
Consisting of ether or spirit.
Vast chain of being, which from God began,
Natures ethereal, human, angel, man.

Definition 2024

ethereal

ethereal

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

ethereal ‎(comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)

  1. Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions.
    • 1667: Milton, Paradise Lost, book VII
      Go, heavenly guest, ethereal messenger.
    • 1862: Thoreau, Walking.
      I trust that we shall be more imaginative, that our thoughts will be clearer, fresher, and more ethereal, as our sky,...
  2. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
    • 1733: Pope, An Essay on Man
      Vast chain of being, which from God began, Natures ethereal, human, angel, man.
  3. Delicate, light and airy.
  4. (chemistry) To do with ether

Derived terms

Translations

References

  • ethereal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology

From Latin aetherius ‎(“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, or the air or upper air; ethereal”), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος ‎(aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air; ethereal”).

Pronunciation

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