different between ethereal vs elysian

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.

English

Adjective

elysian (not comparable)

1. Alternative letter-case form of Elysian.
   • 1774, James Beattie, The Minstrel, or, The Progress of Genius. A Poem. The Second Book, London: Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly in the Poultry, and William Creech, Edinburgh, ?OCLC; republished as The Minstrel; or, The Progress of Genius: In Two Books. With Some Other Poems, London: Printed by T. Gillet, for C[harles] Dilly, in the Poultry, and W[illiam] Creech, Edinburgh, 1797, ?OCLC, stanza XXXVI, page 55:

     O who of man the story will unfold, / Ere victory and empire wrought annoy, / In that elysian age (misnamed of gold) / The age of love, and innocence and joy, […]

Anagrams

• Ainsley