ETHEREAL

aeriform, aerial, airy, aery, ethereal

(adjective) characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air; “figures light and aeriform come unlooked for and melt away”- Thomas Carlyle; “aerial fancies”; “an airy apparition”; “physical rather than ethereal forms”

ethereal, gossamer

(adjective) characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy; “this smallest and most ethereal of birds”; “gossamer shading through his playing”

celestial, ethereal, supernal

(adjective) of heaven or the spirit; “celestial peace”; “ethereal melodies”; “the supernal happiness of a quiet death”

ethereal

(adjective) of or containing or dissolved in ether; “ethereal solution”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

ethereal (comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)

Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly.

Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.

Delicate, light and airy.

(chemistry) To do with ether.

Synonyms

• (pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air): aereous, mystical, transcendental; See also cosmic

• (consisting of ether): ethereous; See also gaseous, insubstantial, or subtle

• (delicate, light and airy): gossamer; See also fragile

• (to do with ether): ethereous, etheric, etherical

Source: Wiktionary


E*the"re*al, a.

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.)

Definition: 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 oenanthic ether).

– Ethereal salt (Chem.), a salt of some organic radical as a base; an ester.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

6 February 2025

CURE

(verb) make (substances) hard and improve their usability; “cure resin”; “cure cement”; “cure soap”


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Coffee Trivia

The average annual yield from one coffee tree is the equivalent of 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of roasted coffee. It takes about 4,000 hand-picked green coffee beans to make a pound of coffee.

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