The story
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: A spherical region of radius λ/2π around a small dipole electromagnetic antenna. This is the distance at which the induction and radiation terms are equal in magnitude. Inside, the induction terms dominate. In radio antenna theory the radiansphere is a convenient definition for the boundary between near-field and far-field regions. Full definition →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.