Word Confusion: Aether versus Ether

Posted October 6, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

You’ll be thrilled to know that this word confusion — aether vs ether — is not at all confusing and they’re heterographs (a subset of homophone).

Both refer to “air, chemical compounds, and nonexistent clear elements filling outer space”. The “difference” is in timing. Aether is the obsolete spelling while ether is the modern spelling. (Aether)

So which one you use depends on the time setting of your story. Or how “romantic” you want to be, *grin*. Hmmm, I got to thinking about 19th century surgery, and I suspect you might want to go with ether there. It sounds more “science-y”.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Aether	Ether
Aether by Toby Keller is under the CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr.	An Old Flask of Anaestethic Ether is Łukasz Karolewski‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Noun ¹, ² Plural: aether Alternative spellings: æther, aither, ether	Noun ¹, ², ³ Plural: ether Alternative spellings: aether, æther
[Mainly literary] The ancient Greek personification of the clear upper air of the sky ¹ The upper regions of air beyond the clouds [Physics; archaic; also fifth element or quintessence] A very rarefied and highly elastic substance formerly believed to permeate all space, including the interstices between the particles of matter, and to be the medium whose vibrations constituted light and other electromagnetic radiation ²	[Mainly literary] The clear sky ¹ The upper regions of air beyond the clouds [the ether; Informal] Air regarded as a medium for radio [Physics; archaic] A very rarefied and highly elastic substance formerly believed to permeate all space, including the interstices between the particles of matter, and to be the medium whose vibrations constituted light and other electromagnetic radiation ² [Chemistry] A pleasant-smelling colorless volatile liquid that is highly flammable ³ Any organic compound with a structure similar to ether, having an oxygen atom linking two alkyl or other organic groups
Examples:
Nasty gases and smoke dispersed into the aether. The motion of the planets would be retarded by the aether through which they moved. I suspect writers in the steampunk genre use aether as their stories are usually set in the 19th century when physicians theorized about the atmosphere. A popular theory in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the use of aether to describe the motion of light.	Ether, also known as diethyl ether and ethoxyethane, is used as an anesthetic and as a solvent or intermediate in industrial processes. The chemical formula for ether is C2H5OC2H5. Dimethyl ether is the simplest ether. Nasty gases and smoke dispersed into the ether. Choral evensong still wafts across the ether. The motion of the planets would be retarded by the ether through which they moved.
Derivatives:
Adjective: aethereal, aetheric	Adjective: etheric Noun: superether
History of the Word:
Late Middle English from the Old French, or via the Latin from the Greek aithēr meaning upper air, from the base of aithein meaning burn, shine. Originally the word denoted a substance believed to occupy space beyond the sphere of the moon. Arose in the mid-17th century.
	Arose in the mid-18th century.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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