Definition of Ether

1. Noun. The fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies.

Exact synonyms: Quintessence
Language type: Archaicism, Archaism
Generic synonyms: Element
Derivative terms: Ethereal, Quintessential

2. Noun. Any of a class of organic compounds that have two hydrocarbon groups linked by an oxygen atom.
Generic synonyms: Organic Compound
Derivative terms: Ethereal

3. Noun. A medium that was once supposed to fill all space and to support the propagation of electromagnetic waves.
Exact synonyms: Aether
Generic synonyms: Medium

4. Noun. A colorless volatile highly inflammable liquid formerly used as an inhalation anesthetic.

Definition of Ether

1. n. 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.

Definition of Ether

1. Proper noun. (Mormonism) The ancient American prophet of Mormon theology who wrote the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. ¹

2. Noun. (organic compound countable) A compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups. ¹

3. Noun. (organic compound uncountable) Diethyl ether (C4H10O), a compound used as an early anaesthetic. ¹

4. Noun. (context: ancient philosophy and alchemy uncountable) A classical physical element, considered as prevalent in the heavens and inaccessible to humans. In some versions of alchemy, this was the fifth element in addition to air, earth, fire and water. ¹

5. Noun. (archaic physics uncountable) A substance (''aether'') once thought to fill all space that allowed electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance to matter or energy (disproved by Einstein in his Theory of Relativity). ¹

6. Noun. (poetic or literary) The sky or heavens; the upper air. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Ether

1. a volatile liquid used as an anesthetic [n -S] : ETHERIC [adj]

Medical Definition of Ether

1. 1. 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. A light, volatile, mobile, inflammable liquid, (C2H5)2O, of a characteristic aromatic odour, 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 anaesthetic. Called also ethyl oxide. Any similar oxide of hydrocarbon radicals; as, amyl ether; valeric ether. Complex ether, Mixed ether, a condensing engine like a steam engine, but operated by the vapor of ether instead of by steam. Origin: Written also aether. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Ether

ethe
ethea
ethene
ethenes
ethenic
ethenoadenosine triphosphate
ethenolysis
ethenone
ethenyl
ethenylbenzene
ethenylene
etheostomoid
etheostomoids
ethephon
ethephons
ether
ether convulsion
ether test
etherate
etherates
ethercap
ethercaps
ethereal
ethereal oil
ethereal solution
etherealisation
etherealisations
etherealise
etherealised

Literary usage of Ether

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Journal of the American Chemical Society by American Chemical Society (1879)
"Figure За gives one-half of the observed spectrum in ether solution at —50°, ... As the temperature of an ether solution of this radical is lowered, ..."

2. A French-English Dictionary for Chemists by Austin McDowell Patterson (1921)
"(Some French organic writers prefer to apply the term " ether " to esters and " oxide ... anesthésique, anesthetic ether (specially purified ethyl ether). ..."

3. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1890)
"The stage of excitement is neither longer nor more violent with ether than ... It is against ether that patients are at times excited and hilarious while ..."

4. Standard Methods of Chemical Analysis: A Manual of Analytical Methods and by Wilfred Welday Scott (1922)
"The extraction with ether is usually made in a Soxhlet apparatus, ... The ether extract is evaporated to dryness in a tared glass dish under a bell-jar ..."

5. Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics by The American College of Surgeons, Franklin H. Martin Memorial Foundation (1913)
"The amount of ether fed is calculated as follows: The displacement piston (23) has an area of 58.3 square on. The pitch of the thread on spindle (24) is ..."

6. The Lancet (1898)
"Only those who have undergone operations under ether or chloroform and have ... Gas, ether, ACE, and chloroform Total 43 7 в U 9 5 8 109 « I 44 7 ' I £5 10 ..."

7. The Condensed Chemical Dictionary: A Reference Volume for All Requiring by Chemical Catalog Company, Inc (1920)
"Soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform and carbon bisulfide. Derivation: Distilled from the ... The vapor of ether mixed with air, explodes when ignited. ..."

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