English
ether
Ether comes from Anglo-Norman ether.
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ether1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ēther1‘the caelum aetherum of ancient cosmology in which the planets orbit’
- Englishearliest quotation 1679ether1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English ether
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1679, Thomas Birch, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Millar: “I ſuppose this æther pervades all groſs bodies, but…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400etherWiktionary, English ether
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ētherWiktionary, English ether‘the caelum aetherum of ancient cosmology in which the planets orbit’
- Englishearliest quotation 1679etherWiktionary, English ether. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1679, Thomas Birch, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Millar: “I ſuppose this æther pervades all groſs bodies, but…”
The story
From Middle English ēther (‘the caelum aetherum of ancient cosmology in which the planets orbit; a shining, fluid substance described as a form of air or fire; air’), borrowed from Anglo-Norman ether and Middle French ether, ethere, aether, from Old French aether (‘highest and purest part of the atmosphere; medium supposedly filling the upper regions of space’) (modern French éther), or directly from its etymon Latin aethēr (‘highest and purest part of the atmosphere; air; heavens, sky; light of day; ethereal matter surrounding a deity’) (note also New Latin aethēr (‘chemical compound analogous to diethyl ether’)), from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “purer upper air of the atmosphere; heaven, sky; theoretical medium supposed to fill unoccupied space and transmit heat and light”), from αἴθω (aíthō, “to burn, ignite; to blaze, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- (‘to burn; fire’). The English word is cognate with Italian ether, ethera (both obsolete), etere, Middle Dutch ether (modern Dutch aether (obsolete), ether), German Äther, Ether, Portuguese éter, Spanish éter.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’
estuary, edifice, edification, 19 more
through Ancient Greek αἰθήρ ‘aether’
Today it means
noun The medium breathed by human beings; the air.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Anglo-Norman ether / ether