Etymology

ethereal

ether·eal
E1T1H4E1R1E1A1L1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Latin aetherius ← Ancient Greek αἰθέριος
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromαἰθέριος“of or pertaining to the upper air”
  2. Latin · borrowed fromaetherius“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, Heaven or the air or upper air”
  3. English todayethereal

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.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekαἰθέριος all →

etherion

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.