Ether
/ˈiː.θər/noun
A clear, colorless, highly volatile liquid once used as an anesthetic; also, in older cosmology, the upper air or a supposed subtle substance filling space.
Did you know?The word comes from Greek aithḗr, meaning the bright upper air, and in ancient thought it was the pure realm above the clouds — literally the “burning” sky.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂eydʰ-
“to burn, set on fire”
Ancient Greek
Gk
αἰθήρ (aithḗr)
“the bright upper air; the clear sky above the clouds”
Latin
Lat
aether
“the upper air; the supposed fifth element”
Old French
OFr
éther
“the upper air; later, a chemical ether”
Modern English
Eng
ether
“a volatile anesthetic liquid; formerly, the hypothetical medium filling space”