noun · masculinethird declension
aethēr
aethēr m (genitive aetheris)
Classical[ˈae̯.tʰeːr]Ecclesiastical[ˈɛː.ter]
№ 851 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- 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)
- Greekthe substance filling the sky above the clouds (above the tropopause), distinct from āēr at cloud level and below
- Medieval LatinNew Latinether, quintessence
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
caelum summum et pūrum, super āera; sēdēs deōrum.aethēr -eris m — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | aethēr | aetherēs |
| genitive | aetheris | aetherum |
| dative | aetherī | aetheribus |
| accusative | aethera aetherem | aetherēs |
| ablative | aethere | aetheribus |
| vocative | aethēr | aetherēs |
aether, ĕris (sometimes Gr.
I. gen. aetheros; acc. reg. Gr. aethera; and so Stat. S. 4, 225; id. Th. 3, 525;
but poetry and prose of that per. also use aetherem, Tert. adv. Marc. 1, 13; cf. Serv. ad Verg. A. 1, 58; plur. in late Lat. aethera, Ven. Fort. Carm. 3, 9, 7), m., = αἰθήρ [v. aestas], the upper, pure, bright air, the ether. I. In gen.
A. Lit. (opp. aër, the lower atmospheric air): restat ultimus omnia cingens et coërcens caeli complexus, qui idem aether vocatur, extrema ora et determinatio mundi;
in quo cum admirabilitate maxima igneae formae cursus ordinatos definiunt, Cic. N. D. 2, 40: (astra) oriuntur in ardore caelesti, qui aether vel caelum nominatur, id. ib. 2, 15.—B. Transf., in the poets,
1. Heaven: Id, quod nostri caelum memorant, Graii perhibent aethera, Pac. ap. Varr. L. L. 5, § 17 Müll. (Trag. Rel. p. 87 Rib.): famā super aethera notus, Verg. A. 1, 379:
rex aetheris altus Juppiter, id. ib. 12, 140: regna profundi aetheros, Stat. Th. 3, 524. —2. Air, in gen.: clamor ad caelum volvendus per aethera vagit, Enn. ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 104 Müll. (Ann. v. 520 Vahl.):
ignem ignes procudunt aetheraque aether, Lucr. 2, 1115: ferar per liquidum aethera Vates, * Hor. C. 2, 20, 2: nudoque sub aetheris axe, Verg. A. 2, 512; 8, 28: apes liquidum trans aethera vectae, id. ib. 7, 65; Sil. 2, 513 al.—* 3. In opp. to the lower world, the upper world, the earth:
aethere in alto duros perferre labores, Verg. A. 6, 436.—* 4. The brightness surrounding a deity:
aethere plena corusco Pallas, Val. Fl. 5, 183.—II. Aether personified, son of Chaos, and father of Cœlum, Cic. N. D. 3, 17 al.; also Jupiter, Cic. Ac. 2, 41. So in the poets often:
pater Aether, Lucr. 1, 250: pater omnipotens Aether, Verg. G. 2, 325.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
aethēr eris, m
, αἰτηήρ, the upper air, sky, firmament: rex aetheris Iuppiter, V.: liquidus, H.: manūs ad aethera tollens, O.: aethera recludam, heavenly things, O.: fama super aethera notus, V. —Air, atmosphere: liquidum trans aethera vectus, V.: gelidus, V.: aethere in alto (opp. the lower world), V.—Person., Heaven, i. e. Jupiter: pater omnipotens Aether, V.
Origins
Derived from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “sky; ether”).
Descendants
- Catalanèter
- Englishether
- Englishæther
- Englishaether
- Englishaethyr
- Englishethyr
- Frenchéther
- Romanianeterfrom French éther
- Frenchæther
- GermanÄther