Etymology

methylate

M3E1T1H4Y4L1A1T1E1

Today it means: To add, or treat with methyl alcohol (see methylated spirits) Full definition →

English methyl ← German Methy ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
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methylate · verb1

  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. English todaymethylate

From methyl + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

methylate · noun2

  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. English todaymethylate

From methyl + -ate (“derivative”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.