Our new 'Word Of The Day' article update :
ether ,
n :
(uncountable, literary or poetic) The substance formerly supposed to fill the upper regions of the atmosphere above the clouds, in particular as a medium breathed by deities. (by extension) The medium breathed by human beings; the air. (by extension) The sky, the heavens; the void, nothingness. (uncountable, physics, historical) Often as aether and more fully as luminiferous aether: a substance once thought to fill all unoccupied space that allowed electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance to matter or energy; its existence was disproved by the 1887 Michelson–Morley experiment and the theory of relativity propounded by Albert Einstein (1879–1955). (uncountable, colloquial) 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. (uncountable, colloquial) A particular quality created by or surrounding an object, person, or place; an atmosphere, an aura. (uncountable, organic chemistry) Diethyl ether (C4H10O), an organic compound with a sweet odour used in the past as an anaesthetic. (countable, organic chemistry) A volatile organic compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups. ether v (transitive, slang) To viciously humiliate or insult.
