aether

== English == === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈiː.θə(ɹ)/ (US) IPA(key): /ˈi.θɚ/ (Can we verify(+) this pronunciation?) (US) IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.θɚ/ === Noun === aether (countable and uncountable, plural aethers) Alternative spelling of ether. ==== Quotations ==== For quotations using this term, see Citations:aether. ==== Derived terms ==== === Anagrams === Heater, eather, hearte, heater, hereat, reheat == Latin == === Alternative forms === ether (Medieval Latin) === Etymology === From Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “sky; ether”). === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈae̯.tʰeːr] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈɛː.ter] === Noun === aethēr m (genitive aetheris); third declension (Graecism) sky, ether (distinct in this sense from caelum (“heaven”), which is where the night's stars are, but not always distinguished from āēr; always distinct from the underworld) Synonym: caelum (Greek mythology, Greek philosophy) the substance filling the sky above the clouds (above the tropopause), distinct from āēr at cloud level and below (alchemy, Medieval Latin, New Latin) ether, quintessence ==== Usage notes ==== The exact meaning of aethēr reflects the scientific or philosophical worldview of the author using it, which could be fairly different, because this Greek concept was often redefined by philosophers. For example, it has been defined both as "fire" and as an element outside of the scheme of the four elements by different ancient philosophers, which definitions are in conflict. Epicureans such as Vergil tend to reveal the "fire" definition of aethēr. The oldest Greek use, as gleaned from Homer, physically puts aethēr above cloud level, and designates it as the sky that is ignited with the light of dawn and with daylight. This corresponds to the stratosphere. ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun (Greek-type, variant with nominative singular in -ēr). The genitive occasionally appears as the Ancient Greek, aetheros. In Medieval Latin the Grecian singular accusative was sometimes confused for a neuter plural. ==== Related terms ==== aetherius aethra ==== Descendants ==== === References === “aether”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “aether”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “aether”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. “aether”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray