æthereal

A form of ethereal — 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.

Meanings

adjectiveæthereal (comparative more æthereal, superlative most æthereal)

comparative more æthereal · superlative most æthereal

  1. archaicArchaic spelling of ethereal.

    There I beheld the painter of the year diſplaying his variegated fancies on his leafy tablets, and, with the pencil of power dipped in the æthereal bow, writing the leſſons of wiſdom divine on the fair forehead of blooming Nature.

    1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iii
    1 more example

    For example, V. Meyer and E. Riecke (1888) assumed that the carbon atom is surrounded by an æthereal envelope which, in the case of isolated atoms, has a spherical shape like that supposed to be possessed by the atoms themselves. The atom in the core carries the specific affinities; the æthereal envelope is the seat of the valencies. Each valency is determined by the presence of two opposite electrical poles—called double or di‐poles—situated at the ends of a straight line which is small in comparison with the diameter of the æthereal shell. The four valencies of carbon are represented by four such di‐poles each of which is able to move freely within the æthereal shell, and to turn freely about its middle point.

    1922, Joseph William Mellor, A Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, Longmans, Green and Co., Volume I, Chapter V, § 17, page 226
Cite this entry
APA

æthereal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A6thereal

MLA

“æthereal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A6thereal. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “æthereal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A6thereal.

Source: æthereal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.