| ethereal | 1. Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions. "Go, heavenly guest, ethereal messenger." (Milton) 2. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterised by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc. "Vast chain of being, which from God began, Natures ethereal, human, angel, man." (Pope) 3. <chemistry> Pertaining to, derived from, or resembling, ether; as, ethereal salts. Ethereal oil. <chemistry> A salt of some organic radical as a base; an ester. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| ethereal oil | A substance of oily consistency and feel, derived from a plant and containing the principles to which the odour and taste of the plant are due (essential oil); in contrast to a fatty oil, a volatile oil evaporates when exposed to the air and thus is capable of distillation; it may also be obtained by expression or extraction; many volatile oil's, identical to or closely resembling the natural oil's, can be made synthetically. Volatile oil's are used in medicine as stimulants, stomachics, correctives, carminatives, and for purposes of flavoring (e.g., peppermint oil). Synonym: ethereal oil. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ethereal solution | A solution of any substance in ether. (05 Mar 2000) |
| ethereal tincture | A class of preparations consisting of 10% percolations of drugs in a menstruum of ether 1 and alcohol 2. (05 Mar 2000) |