In a light, delicate, or heavenly manner; as if barely present or extremely refined.
From 'ethereal' (from Latin 'aetherius' meaning 'of the upper air') plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. The word evolved from the Greek concept of the aether, the fifth element thought to fill the highest heaven.
Ancient Greeks believed the aether was the divine substance that stars and gods inhabited—so when we say something is 'ethereal,' we're literally calling it god-like and otherworldly, even though we now know aether doesn't exist!
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