different between apparitional vs ethereal

English

Etymology

apparition +? -al

Adjective

apparitional (comparative more apparitional, superlative most apparitional)

1. (religion, forteana) Of or pertaining to an apparition or apparitions

   Synonyms: ghostly, immaterial, spectral

   • 1908, Henry James, "The Jolly Corner," ch. 2,

     People enough, first and last, had been in terror of apparitions, but who had ever before so turned the tables and become himself, in the apparitional world, an incalculable terror?

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:ghostly

Translations

Further reading

• apparitional in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “apparitional” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• apparitional at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Alternative forms

• etherial
• aethereal
• aetherial
• æthereal
• æthereall (obsolete)
• ætherial
• ætheriall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, or the air or upper air; ethereal”), from Ancient Greek ???????? (aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air; ethereal”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?????.?i.?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?????.i.?l/, /?????.i.?l/

Adjective

ethereal (comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)

1. Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly.
   • 1862: Thoreau, Walking.

     I trust that we shall be more imaginative, that our thoughts will be clearer, fresher, and more ethereal, as our sky, […]

2. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
3. Delicate, light and airy.
4. (chemistry) To do with ether.

   an ethereal solution

Synonyms

• (pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air): aereous, mystical, transcendental; See also Thesaurus:cosmic
• (consisting of ether): ethereous; See also Thesaurus:gaseous, Thesaurus:insubstantial, or Thesaurus:subtle
• (delicate, light and airy): gossamer; See also Thesaurus:fragile
• (to do with ether): ethereous, etheric, etherical

Derived terms

Translations

References

• ethereal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.