Etymology

chloromethane

C3H4L1O1R1O1M3E1T1H4A1N1E1

Today it means: Methyl chloride, a flammable gas once used as a refrigerant, with chemical formula CH₃Cl. Full definition →

English methane ← German Methy ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰelh₃-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰl̥h₃rós
  3. Proto-Hellenic*kʰlōrós
  4. Ancient Greekχλωρός (khlōrós)
  5. Englishchloro-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*médʰu
  7. Proto-Hellenic*métʰu
  8. Ancient Greekμέθυ (méthu)
  9. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  10. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  11. GermanMethy
  12. Englishmethyl
  13. Englishmethane
  14. English todaychloromethane

From chloro- + methane.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.