Meanings
plural chloromethanes
- chemistryMethyl chloride, a flammable gas once used as a refrigerant, with chemical formula CH₃Cl.
[…] by subjecting that compound to the action of chlorine in sunshine, whereby chloromethane, or methyl chloride, CH₃Cl, is produced, and distilling this chloride with potash.
1869, George Fownes, A Manual of Elementary Chemistry, page 512 - chemistryAny of the chlorinated derivatives of methane.
Among the halogenated hydrocarbons, chloromethanes (i.e., methyl chloride, CH₃Cl; methylene chloride, CH₂Cl₂; chloroform, CHCl₃; and carbon tetrachloride, CCl₄) play a vital role due to their extensive uses as solvents and chemical intermediates.
2017 September 21, Wen-Tien Tsai, “Fate of Chloromethanes in the Atmospheric Environment: Implications for Human Health, Ozone Formation and Depletion, and Global Warming Impacts”, in Toxics
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰelh₃-
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰl̥h₃rós
- Proto-Hellenic*kʰlōrós
- Ancient Greekχλωρός (khlōrós)
- Englishchloro-
- Proto-Indo-European*médʰu
- Proto-Hellenic*métʰu
- Ancient Greekμέθυ (méthu)
- Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
- Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
- GermanMethy
- Englishmethyl
- Englishmethane
- Englishchloromethane
Translations
Hungarian klórmetán
- klórmetánTranslations
Italian clorometano
- clorometanoTranslations
Japanese クロロメタン
- クロロメタン (kurorometan)Translations
Māori mewaro pūhaumāota
- mewaro pūhaumāotaTranslations
Romanian clorometan
- clorometanTranslations
Spanish clorometano
- clorometanoTranslations
Turkish klorometan
- klorometanTranslations
Cite this entry
chloromethane. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chloromethane
“chloromethane.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chloromethane. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chloromethane,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chloromethane.
Source: chloromethane on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.