1. to administer ether as an anesthetic to (a patient)
Usage: chiefly British; archaic or historical

Examples

• The surgeon decided to etherise the patient before beginning the operation.
• In the 19th century, doctors would etherise patients to eliminate pain during surgery.
• The anesthetist carefully etherised the woman as she lay on the operating table.
• Before modern anesthetics, ether was used to etherise surgical patients.