Words that are commonly confused

Ethereal/ ephemeral

 The adjective ethereal means delicate and light in a graceful way. Ethereal derives from the term ether, a noun that originates in the Ancient Greek term for the upper air. Thammasat University students in the faculties of science are aware that in organic chemistry, ethers may be compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups. Diethyl ether (C4H10O) is a compound used as an early anaesthetic. More generally, something ethereal belongs to the sky or heavens, and is too light or perfect for the earth. In old philosophy, ether was meant to be an element belonging to the heavens, in addition to air, earth, fire and water. TU students in the Faculty of Physics know that Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity showed that ether does not fill space, allowing electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance. Because it is a very old word, ethereal may be seen spelled in different ways in certain books. Although the standard spelling today is ethereal, it may be also seen as

• etherial
• aethereal
• aetherial
• æthereal
• æthereall
• ætherial
• ætheriall

The adjective ephemeral refers to something that only lasts for a brief time. Something that is ephemeral is fleeting, impermanent, and momentary. In biology, some plants and insects are described as ephemeral if they have a short life cycle. The word ephemeral derives from an Ancient Greek term meaning something that lasts only one day. In the Ancient Greek language, it was used to describe some diseases or lifespans. In geology, a body of water may be called ephemeral if it only exists when it rains and shortly afterward. If the same area is dry most of the time, the body of water is ephemeral. Some libraries have special collections of ephemera, a noun referring to printed items that were only intended to be used and preserved for a short time. The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., USA has a collection of printed ephemera that contains posters, songsheets, notices, invitations, proclamations, petitions, timetables, leaflets, ballots, tickets, menus, and business cards, among other items. Many of these may be consulted online. They range from the 1600s until today, giving a close view of daily life in different times and countries. As the Library of Congress website explains:

As the name would suggest, printed ephemera tends to be transitory documents created for a specific purpose, and intended to be thrown away…The printed material was produced as the events unfolded and offers unique snapshots of the nation’s past. Printed ephemera has had multiple purposes, as instanced by the variety of material assembled in the online collection. A primary purpose was the distribution of information. In the days before television and radio, citizens received news by way of broadsides and printed ephemera…Many of the items were never meant to be kept. For example, an ordinary paint advertisement may not seem of historical interest except for the date: 1792. The list of colors (more than one might expect) gives clues about the shades and hues that adorned the homes of the nation’s founders. A 1928 railroad leaflet includes one of the earliest references to air travel, and shows the industry in a nascent, and interesting, state.

Many other libraries collect this type of material, of use to historians, sociologists, and other researchers. To tell apart ethereal and ephemeral, we might try to associate these words by creating little sentences that help us remember their meanings. The sentences link the words ethereal and ephemeral to other words also starting with the letters eth and eph. As always, the meaning of these sentences is less important than bringing together words with some similarities that may help remind us of their meanings:

There is nothing ethereal about the Ethical Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai.

There is nothing ethereal about Thailand’s ethanol industry.

At TU, students show that the craze for EPhones is not ephemeral. 

Due to drug abuse, the ban on Ephedrine has not been ephemeral.

Some more usage examples:

• Exploring the nooks and crannies of Cao Bang’s ethereal ‘Bat Cave.’
• Buddhist concepts have been inspiring art for 3,000 years, but, as a modern sampling in a modern setting, the exhibition “The Timeless Present Moment” at Chiang Mai’s Mia Iam Contemporary Art Museum is an extraordinary exercise in visualising the deepest and most ethereal tenets of the religion.
• There is a Bronze Age Isaan simplicity and potency in Piyatat’s enigmatic bronzes. This isn’t surprising, since he learned to cast bronze in Ubon in the Northeast, which is steeped in prehistory. The sculptures’ solidity notwithstanding, they take us into ethereal realms, not of fantasy but of otherworldly reality.
• However, what it provides, in exchange for what in Singapore are really only entry-level commitments, is considerably more and looks set to challenge the more ethereal IHQ (International Headquarters) scheme.
• The artwork depicts an ethereal world of Princes & Princesses, adorned with beautiful flowers, travelling in their joyful fantasy world for eternity – celebrating the Art of Living Well.
• You might need a posh tent to “Go Glamping” with Milin, which summons the ethereal spirits of the breathtaking Sonoran Desert in the US Southwest.
• Based at Como Uma Paro, this six-night trip takes you to the heart of the ethereal Himalayan kingdom.
• It’s ethereal, with a seemingly impossible, unworldly beauty, repeatedly drawing the audience to a Buddhist message of goodwill and hope.
• New movie “Pee Mak Phra Khanong” is gliding along with help from the ethereal magic of the social media.
• Guests at the dinner also viewed an art installation comprising the star piece in the collection, an ethereal pleated gown of polyester made from discarded plastic collected on the seashore.
• The Bangkok Symphony Orchestra joined in for an ethereal rendering of “Yesterday”. Adam Hastings as John Lennon kept up the witty banter and Steve White as Paul McCartney (a right-hander accurately playing the bass left-handed) bobbed his head endearingly.
• The ethereal femininity that defines the fashion house has been sharpened with exquisite subversiveness, offering a seditious take on demi-couture dressing.
• Ephemeral work adorns ‘Forgotten Land’ in Binh Thuan, Vietnam – Artists from around the world create sand sculptures that last from eight months to a year in first-of-its-kind park in southern Vietnam.
• Nevertheless, US officials continue to speak and act as if the US military presence and activities are warmly welcomed in the region without reservation. But Southeast Asian support may be much shallower and more ephemeral than they think.
• Bliss is a temporary and ephemeral experience, and our artists will seek to interpret different variants and intensities.” Apinan said Huang Yong Ping would create new works at Wat Pho, and Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset would construct a giant swimming pool in front of the East Asiatic Building.
• Ephemeral, flawed–but it’s a continuing statement that food matters, that it’s something more than what we eat to feed ourselves.
• As part of “French Highlights #3”, the “Ephemeral” exhibition by French expat painter Sylvie Coevoet and photographer Stephanie Noto is ongoing at Alliance Francaise Bangkok until March 29.
• The live and ephemeral nature of theatre means that no matter how hard the actors attempt to repeat their performance on different evenings, one will always different from the others.
• With La Fete now a year-round event, the French Embassy, with support from Institut Francaise and Hotel Pullman Bangkok King Power and in collaboration with Studio 41 and World Performances@Drama Chula, have announced that the company, which describes itself as “mobile, organic, ephemeral, random, sensory: searching for a live digital world” will kick off its Asia tour of “Hakanai” at the same venue. Describing the performance at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) last year, Dance Informa magazine’s Stephanie Woodard wrote, “An audience member seated in the round in BAM’s Fishman Space watched as Kajihara, in a simple white long-sleeved shirt and trousers, explored ‘Hakanai’s’ ephemeral world. The set was an ever-mutating array of white lines, grids, letters, and numbers projected on tulle stretched over the walls of a cubical frame”.
• Cai Guo-Qiang, the Chinese artist known for harnessing fireworks and gunpowder to craft delicate, ephemeral works, brought childhood dreams to life Thursday in a colourful public installation that is one of his largest in the United States.
• Some may lament the ephemeral and brief nature of human life, but it’s precisely this scarcity of time we each have in our lives that makes us able to lessen our attachment to ourselves and enables us to lead life meaningfully, and to more freely think about issues that are beyond our immediate interests.
• It was, however, to prove far from ephemeral.
• The other important point about the meru is that it is ephemeral: It makes a brief appearance and then disappears after the ceremony to become an architectural formula in the mind.
• “I really believe in art, I really believe in the transcendence it’s given me… and it’s taught me how to enjoy ideas and also experience this very ephemeral realm of ideas,” he said.
• The clay statues’ immersion in the river shows the ephemeral nature of life – that nothing in this mortal world lasts forever. This is popularly known as the Ganesh Visarjan ceremony.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)