different between ethereal vs evanescent

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

Etymology

Borrowed from French évanescent (“evanescent”), from Latin ?v?n?sc?ns (“disappearing, vanishing”), present participle of ?v?n?sc? (“to disappear, vanish; to die out, fade away; to lapse”), from ?- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away, out’)) + v?n?sc? (“to vanish”) (from v?nus (“empty, vacant, void”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?weh?- (“to abandon, leave”)) + -?sc? (suffix forming verbs with the sense ‘to become’)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?v??n?s(?)nt/, /i?v?-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??v??n?s?nt/
• Rhymes: -?s?nt
• Hyphenation: eva?nes?cent

Adjective

evanescent (comparative more evanescent, superlative most evanescent)

1. Disappearing, vanishing.

   Synonym: nonevanescent

   1. (electromagnetism) Of an oscillating electric or magnetic field: not propagating as an electromagnetic wave but having its energy spatially concentrated in the vicinity of its source.
   2. (mathematics) Of a number or value: diminishing to the point of reaching zero as a limit; infinitesimal.
2. Barely there; almost imperceptible.
3. Ephemeral, fleeting, momentary.

   Synonyms: nonevanescent; see also Thesaurus:ephemeral

   1. (botany) Of plant parts: shed after a period.

Derived terms

• evanescence
• evanescently
• nonevanescent

Related terms

• evanesce

Translations

References

Further reading

• evanescent field on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• evanescent (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Latin

Verb

?v?n?scent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of ?v?n?sc?

Romanian

Etymology

From French évanescent

Adjective

evanescent m or n (feminine singular evanescent?, masculine plural evanescen?i, feminine and neuter plural evanescente)

1. evanescent

Declension