methyl (English)

Where does "methyl" come from?

The English noun 'methyl' comes from the German 'Methyl'[1], which is built from Ancient Greek elements including 'méthu' meaning 'wine'[1][2]. French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot originally coined the related term 'methylene' around 1835 by combining 'méthu' with 'húlē' meaning 'wood' to describe alcohol made from wood[1]. Around 1840, the term 'methyl' was created as a back-formation from 'methylene', and it was subsequently applied to describe methyl alcohol[1].

Open questions

The exact derivation and timing of the back-formation of the term methyl from methylene involve specific historical chemical nomenclature decisions around 1840. [1]

Full etymology tree

methyl (English), 'The univalent hydrocarbon radical, CH₃-, formally derived from methane by the loss of a hydrogen atom; a compound or part of a compound formed by the attachment of such a radical.'
- borrowed Methyl (German), 'methyl'
  - derived μέθυ (méthu) (Ancient Greek), 'wine'
  - suffix -yl (German), '-yl'
- back-formation methylene (English), 'The divalent group –CH₂– in which the free valencies are part of single bonds.'
  - borrowed méthylène (French), 'methylene'
    - compound μέθυ (méthu) (Ancient Greek), 'wine'
    - compound ὕλη (húlē) (Ancient Greek), 'wood, trees, forest'

Ancestors

Methyl (German)

Cognates and doublets

μέθυ (Ancient Greek)
méthyle (French)

Descendants and derived words

1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (English)
2-methyl-1,3-butadiene (English)
2-methyl-2-propenoic acid (English)
acetoxymethyl (English)
acetylmethylcarbinol (English)
alclometasone (English)
allylmercaptomethylpenicillin (English)
aminomethyl (English)
aminomethyl (English)
amoxapine (English)
azamethonium (English)
azidomethyl (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

More words starting with M

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris