ether

noun (uncountable)

«ether» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(science) A colourless liquid with a strong smell that evaporates easily; it was used long ago to put patients to sleep for operations. tree →
(old science) An invisible substance that people once thought filled space and carried light; experiments showed it does not exist. tree →
(poetic) The clear sky or upper air. tree →
(informal) «Into the ether»: lost or disappeared, especially online or on the radio. tree →

In the lessons

In history of medicine, ether was one of the first anaesthetics, used from the 1840s. In science history, the idea of the ether is an example of a theory that was tested and dropped. In everyday talk, a message «vanished into the ether» means it was lost. Phrases: «into the ether», «over the ether».

Examples

Doctors once used ether to put patients to sleep. tree →
Ether evaporates very quickly. tree →
Scientists once believed light travelled through the ether. tree →
Experiments showed there was no ether. tree →
My email just vanished into the ether. tree →
Birds flew high in the blue ether. tree →
They saw a blue smoke rising, writhing upward till it vanished in the blue ether. tree →

Note

Uncountable. Pronounced «EE-ther». Can also be spelled «aether» for the old idea of space. Safety: ether is very flammable. Not the same as «either».

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah translations it means a fine, invisible element like air or spirit, from which other things come. In the Prophets Ether is also the name of a town.

Interpretation. Some readers take Sefer Yetzirah to say that after God's spirit came air, then water, then fire, and ether was another name for this finer first substance. In Joshua, Ether is a city in the land given to the tribe of Simeon.

Examples

First, Spirit (query Akasa, Ether) then (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
4) Fire or ether emanated from the water. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
15) According to the author, the space and six dimensions emanated from the ether. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
Ain, Rimmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages; (Prophets JOS.19.7, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Uncountable. Pronounced «EE-ther». Can also be spelled «aether» for the old idea of space. Safety: ether is very flammable. Not the same as «either».

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «ether» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«ether» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «ether» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«ether» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.

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