ether

The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.; The medium breathed by human beings; the air.broadlycountableliterary

• On Wings the Birds through Æther glide, / And Fiſhes cut with Fins the Tide.
• Of the mysterious world, that come to me From the elements of Fire and Earth and Water, And the all-nourishing Ether!

The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities.; The sky, the heavens; the void, nothingness.broadlycountableliterary

• There’s a very real chance that, rather than crumbling into the dust and floating off into the ether, Thanos’s victims [in the film Avengers: Infinity War] were actually sucked up into the Soul Stone.

Often as aether and more fully as luminiferous aether: The hypothetical substance permeating space, functioning as a medium for electromagnetic waves to propagate through, and which does not exert resistance to the movement of matter; its existence is incompatible with Einstein's theory of relativithistoricaluncountable

• "The ether. The earth browses upon a circular path in the fields of space, and as it moves the ether is continually pouring through it and providing its vitality."

The atmosphere or space as a medium for broadcasting radio and television signals; also, a notional space through which Internet and other digital communications take place; cyberspace.colloquialuncountable

• H. P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness He held some friendly chat with Pabodie over the ether, and repeated his praise of the really marvelous drills that had helped him make his discovery.

A particular quality created by or surrounding an object, person, or place; an atmosphere, an aura.colloquialuncountable

• The luminous æther of his life was not obſcured by any ſhade dark enough to be denominated a defect.

Diethyl ether (C₄H₁₀O), an organic compound with a sweet odour used in the past as an anaesthetic.uncountable

• To A Gould and William T. G. Morton, of Boston, Mass., for improvement in apparatus for inhaling ether; &c., (said Gould having assigned to said Morton.) Patented Nov. 13, 1847.
• The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge.

Any of a class of organic compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups.countable

• An old man to whom a few drops of phosphoric ether had been administered experienced repeated and imperious venereal wants.

Starting fluid.uncountable

To viciously humiliate or insult.slangtransitive

• The battle rapper ethered his opponent and caused him to slink away in shame.

Alternative form of edder.UKalt-ofalternative

• In the edition of 1760 of "The Complete Angler" there is a curious quotation from Bowlker, who was a great authority on fish-ponds, in which he recommends:— "When you intend to stick a pool with carp or tench, make a close ethering hedge ac

Alternative letter-case form of Ether.alt-of

• Gas is not ether–it's a separate virtual currency with its own exchange rate against ether.