English
ethane
Ethane comes from Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη ‘wood’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῡ̔́ληhū́lē‘wood’
- Germanc. 1650–presentEthy
- English1500–presentethyl
- Englishearliest quotation 1959ethane
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῡ̔́ληhū́lē‘wood’
- Germanc. 1650–presentEthy
- English1500–presentethyl
- Englishearliest quotation 1959ethane
Earliest quotation: 1959, A. F. Trotman-Dickenson, Free Radicals: An Introduction: “The dissociation constants for ethanes in which the two…”
A compound of eth- + -ane
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to ignite’
Proto-Hellenic *áitʰō ‘to ignite’
Ancient Greek αἴθω ‘to ignite, kindle, light’
Ancient Greek αἰθήρ ‘ether’
English eth-
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swel-
swell, swollen, swole, swill, dimethyl, 32 more
through Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη ‘wood’
methyl, isopropyl, phenyl, ethyl, 20 more
through English ethyl
Today it means
noun An aliphatic hydrocarbon, C₂H₆, gaseous at normal temperatures and pressures, being a constituent of natural gas.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη / ethane