| 释义 |
ether
noun
also ae·ther \ˈēthə(r)\
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English ether, from Latin aether, from Greek aithēr, from aithein to kindle, blaze — more at edify
1.
a. : the clear sky : heaven, air
< all the unmeasured ether flames with light — Alexander Pope >
b. : the element formerly held to form the material of the heavenly spheres and bodies from the moon to the fixed stars
c. : the upper regions of space or the rarefied element formerly held to fill these regions : empyrean
2.
a. : a medium of unusual qualities (as extreme tenuity, absolute continuity, and high rigidity and elasticity) postulated in the undulatory theory of light as permeating all space and as transmitting transverse waves
b. : the medium of transmission of radio waves
< jamming of BBC output became a regular feature of the war in the ether — J.B.Clark >
3.
a. : a light volatile flammable water-insoluble fat-soluble liquid (C2H5)2O that has a characteristic aromatic odor, is obtained by the distillation of alcohol with sulfuric acid, and is used chiefly as a solvent and anesthetic — called also diethyl ether, ethyl ether, ethyl oxide
b. : any of a class of relatively inert organic compounds typified by ethyl ether and characterized by an oxygen atom attached to two carbon atoms that are usually contained in hydrocarbon radicals — see epoxide
c. : ester; especially : ethyl ester — now little used
4. : something that resembles the medium of ether : atmosphere
< the narrator's autoanalysis … is the ether in which the great work exists — Bernard DeVoto > |