Etymology

methanogen

M3E1T1H4A1N1O1G2E1N1

Today it means: Any of various archaebacteria capable of methanogenesis. Full definition →

Ancient Greek γένος (génos) ← Proto-Hellenic *génos ← Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*médʰu
  2. Proto-Hellenic*métʰu
  3. Ancient Greekμέθυ (méthu)
  4. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  5. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  6. GermanMethy
  7. Englishmethyl
  8. Englishmethane
  9. Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*ǵénh₁os
  11. Proto-Hellenic*génos
  12. Ancient Greekγένος (génos)
  13. English todaymethanogen

From methane + -o- + -gen.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.