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ethereal

adj
/ɪˈθɪə.ɹɪ.əl/UK/ɪˈθɪɚ.i.əl/US/iˈθɪə̯.ri.əl/

Etymology

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, Heaven or the air or upper air”), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος (aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air”). By surface analysis, ether + -ial.

  1. derived from αἰθέριος — “of or pertaining to the upper air”
  2. borrowed from aetherius — “of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, Heaven or the air or upper air”

Definitions

  1. Pertaining to the presupposition of an invisible air-like element permeating all of…

    Pertaining to the presupposition of an invisible air-like element permeating all of space, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere.

    • Near-synonyms: aereous, celestial
    • ethereal space
    • ethereal regions

  2. Pertaining to the immaterial realm, as symbolically represented by, or (in earlier…

    Pertaining to the immaterial realm, as symbolically represented by, or (in earlier epochs) conflated with, such atmospheric and extra-atmospheric concepts.

    • Near-synonyms: celestial, incorporeal, insubstantial, intangible, spiritual, uncorporeal, mystical, otherworldly, transcendental; see also Thesaurus:cosmic
    • Sure he preſum'd of praiſe, vvho came to ſtock / Th' etherial paſtures vvith ſo fair a flock; / Burniſh'd, and bat'ning on their food, to ſhovv / The diligence of carefull herds belovv.

  3. Consisting of ether

    Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.

    • Vaſt chain of being ! which from God began, / Ethereal Eſſence, Spirit, Subſtance, Man, / Beaſt, Bird, Fiſh, Inſect ! [...]
    • Strange mystery of our nature, that those in whom genius developes itself in imagination, thus taking its most ethereal form, should yet be the most dependent on the opinions of others!
    • He did not see[…]that already, in the incipiency of his work, the heavy unmalleable element of mere book-knowledge would not congenially weld with the wide fluidness and ethereal airiness of spontaneous creative thought.
  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. Ellipsis of ethereal wave (“music genre”).

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for ethereal. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA