Origin and history of ether

ether(n.)

late 14c., "upper regions of space," from Old French ether (12c.) and directly from Latin aether "the upper pure, bright air; sky, firmament," from Greek aithēr "upper air; bright, purer air; the sky" (opposed to aēr "the lower air"), from aithein "to burn, shine," from PIE *aidh- "to burn" (see edifice).

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In ancient cosmology, the element that filled all space beyond the sphere of the moon, constituting the substance of the stars and planets. Conceived of as a purer form of fire or air, or as a fifth element. From 17c.-19c., it was the scientific word for an assumed "frame of reference" for forces in the universe, perhaps without material properties. The concept was shaken by the Michelson-Morley experiment (1887) and discarded early 20c. after the Theory of Relativity won acceptance, but before it went it gave rise to the colloquial use of ether for "the radio" (1899).

The name also was bestowed c. 1730 (Frobenius; in English by 1757) on a volatile chemical compound known since 14c. for its lightness and lack of color (its anesthetic properties weren't fully established until 1842).

also from late 14c.

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Entries linking to ether

edifice(n.)

"a building, structure," late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originally "a place with a hearth." The second element is combining form of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").

Aedis/aedes is reconstructed to be from PIE *eidh- "to burn, burning" (source also of Sanskrit inddhe "burst into flames;" Avestan aesma- "firewood;" Greek aithein "to burn," aithos "fire;" Latin aestas "summer," aestus "heat;" Lithuanian iesmė "firewood;" Old Irish aed "fire," Welsh aidd "heat, zeal;" Old English ād, Old High German eit "funeral pile," Old Norse eisa "burning coals"), which is perhaps related to the root *as- "to burn, glow."

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ester(n.)

compound formed by an acid joined to an alcohol, 1852, coined in German in 1848 by German chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), professor at Heidelberg. The name is "apparently a pure invention" [Flood], perhaps a contraction of or abstraction from Essigäther, the German name for ethyl acetate, from Essig "vinegar" + Äther "ether" (see ether). Essig is from Old High German ezzih, from a metathesis of Latin acetum (see vinegar).

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quintessence
early 15c., quint-essence, in ancient philosophy and medieval alchemy, "a pure essence latent in all things, and the substance of which the heavenly bodies are composed," literally "fifth essence," from Old French quinte essence (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin quinta esse
medium
1580s, "a middle ground, quality, or degree; that which holds a middle place or position," from Latin medium "the middle, midst, center; interval," noun use of neuter of adjective medius "in the middle, between; from the middle" (from PIE root *medhyo- "middle"). Many of the seco
element
c. 1300, "earth, air, fire, or water; one of the four things regarded by the ancients as the constituents of all things," from Old French element (10c.), from Latin elementum "rudiment, first principle, matter in its most basic form" (translating Greek stoikheion), origin and ori
vinyl
in modern use, in reference to a plastic or synthetic resin, 1939, short for polyvinyl; not in widespread use until late 1950s. Slang meaning "phonograph record" (1976) replaced wax (n.) in that sense. In chemistry, vinyl was used from 1851 as the name of a univalent radical deri
rosary
mid-15c., rosarie, "rose garden, ground set apart for the cultivation of roses," a sense now obsolete, from Latin rosarium "rose garden," in Medieval Latin also "garland; string of beads; series of prayers," from noun use of neuter of rosarius "of roses," from rosa "rose" (see ro
aloof
1530s, "to windward," from a- (1) "on" + Middle English loof "windward direction," which is probably from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof) "the weather side of a ship" (see luff (n.)). Originally in nautical orders to keep the ship's head to the wind, and thus stay clear of a lee-sh
quantum
1610s, "sum, amount," from Latin quantum (plural quanta) "as much as, so much as; how much? how far? how great an extent?" neuter singular of correlative pronominal adjective quantus "as much" (see quantity). The word was introduced in physics directly from Latin by Max Planck, 1
square
mid-13c., "mason's tool for measuring right angles, carpenter's square," from Old French esquire "a square, squareness," from Vulgar Latin *exquadra, a back-formation from *exquadrare "to square," from Latin ex "out" (see ex-) + quadrare "make square, set in order, complete," fro
abortion
1540s, "the expulsion of the fetus before it is viable," originally of deliberate as well as unintended miscarriages; from Latin abortionem (nominative abortio) "miscarriage; abortion, procuring of an untimely birth," noun of action from past-participle stem of aboriri "to miscar
vernacular
c. 1600, "native to a country," from Latin vernaculus "domestic, native, indigenous; pertaining to home-born slaves," from verna "home-born slave, native," a word of Etruscan origin. Used in English in the sense of Latin vernacula vocabula, in reference to language. As a noun, "n
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