ethereal

English

WOTD – 9 March 2007

Alternative forms

• etherial
• aethereal
• aetherial
• æthereal
• æthereall (obsolete)
• ætherial
• ætheriall (obsolete)

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˈθɪə.ɹi.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪˈθɪɹ.i.əl/, /əˈθɪɹ.i.əl/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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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.

   ethereal space ethereal regions

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554, lines 1282–1284:

     Since to part, / Go heavenly Gueſt, Ethereal Meſſenger, / Sent from whoſe ſovran goodneſs I adore.

   • 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, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], OCLC 960856019, lines 237–239, page 14:

     Vaſt chain of being ! which from God began, / Ethereal Eſſence, Spirit, Subſtance, Man, / Beaſt, Bird, Fiſh, Inſect ! [...]

3. Delicate, light and airy.
4. (chemistry) To do with ether.

Synonyms

• (pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air): aereous, mystical, transcendental; See also Thesaurus:cosmic
• (consisting of ether): ethereous; See also Thesaurus:gaseous, Thesaurus:insubstantial, or Thesaurus:subtle
• (delicate, light and airy): gossamer; See also Thesaurus:fragile
• (to do with ether): ethereous, etheric, etherical

Derived terms

Derived terms

• etherealisation
• ethereality
• etherealization

• etherealizing
• ethereally
• etherealness

Translations

Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere

• Bulgarian: ефирен (bg) (efiren)
• Catalan: eteri
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 空靈 (zh), 空灵 (zh) (kōnglíng)

• Czech: éterický m, nadpozemský m
• Finnish: taivaallinen (fi)
• French: éthéré (fr)
• German: ätherisch (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: αἰθέριος (aithérios)

• Hebrew: שְׁמֵימִי‎ (shmeimi)
• Irish: aerga
• Italian: etereo (it)
• Polish: eteryczny (pl) m, nieziemski (pl) m, niebiański (pl) m
• Romanian: eteric (ro)
• Russian: эфи́рный (ru) (efírnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: nadzemaljski (sh) m
• Spanish: etéreo (es)

Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy

• Czech: éterický m
• Finnish: eteerinen (fi), haihtuva (fi)
• French: éthéré (fr)

• Italian: etereo (it)
• Polish: eteryczny (pl) m, lekki (pl) m, zwiewny m
• Romanian: eteric (ro)

Delicate, light and airy

• Czech: éterický m
• French: éthéré (fr)
• German: himmlisch (de), ätherisch (de)

• Italian: etereo (it)
• Polish: eteryczny (pl) m, lekki (pl) m, zwiewny m
• Romanian: eteric (ro)

References

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