In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
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
4 April 2025
GUILLOTINE
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
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