Etymology

methyl

M3E1T1H4Y4L1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

German Methy ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) ← Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.?
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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. English todaymethyl

Borrowed from German Methyl; compare French méthyle. French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot, after determining methanol's chemical structure, introduced "methylene" from the Ancient Greek μέθυ (méthu, “wine”) + ὕλη (húlē, “wood, material”) with the intention of highlighting its origins, "alcohol made from wood (substance)". The term "methyl" was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from "methylene", and was then applied to describe "methyl alcohol".

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.