methyl

See also: Methyl, méthyl, methyl-, and méthyl-

English

Etymology

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".

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mĕʹthĭl, IPA^(key): /ˈmɛθaɪl/, /ˈmɛθɪl/, /ˈmiːθaɪl/, /ˈmiːθɪl/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛθəl/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛθɪl

Noun

methyl (plural methyls)

1. (organic chemistry) 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.
   • 1973, Robert E. Cornish, Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies, page 119:

     You might point out in the theory of oxidation of oils, in development of rancidity in oils, that many methyls accelerate this oxidation of oils. I do not want to burden you with a lecture on chemistry but there are some methyls like iron which has both a valence of two and of three. Another example is cobalt which has a valence of both two and three.

   • 2003, Russell Timkovich, 73: The Family of d-Type Hemes: Tetrapyrroles with Unusual Substituents, Karl M. Kadish, Kevin M. Smith, Roger Guilard (editors), The Porphyrin Handbook, Volume 12: The Iron and Cobalt Pigments: Biosynthesis, Structure and Degradation, page 134,

     The southern acetates must be decarboxylated to methyls.

   • 2005, Bruce A. Hathaway, Organic Chemistry the Easy Way, page 38:

     The most stable form has the groups staggered and the methyls as far from each other as possible (DA^{[dihedral angle]} = 180°).

Derived terms

• 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium
• 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene
• 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene
• 2-methyl-2-propenoic acid
• azinphos-methyl
• demethylation
• dimethyl
• dimethylsilane
• ethyl methyl cellulose
• hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose
• imazamethabenz-methyl
• kresoxim-methyl
• methyl acetate
• methyl acrylate
• methyl alcohol
• methylate
• methylation
• methyl blue
• methyl bromide
• methyl cellulose
• methyl chloride
• methyl chloroform
• methyl cyanide
• methyl ethyl ketone
• methyl ethyl ketone peroxide
• methyl fluoride
• methyl formate
• methyl group
• methyl hydrate
• methyl hydroxide
• methyl iodide
• methyl isobutyl ketone
• methyl jasmonate
• methyl mercaptan
• methyl mercury
• methyl methacrylate
• methyl methyacrylate
• methyl orange
• methylotrophic
• methyl para-hydroxybenzoate
• methyl paraoxon
• methyl radical
• methyl rubber
• methyl salicylate
• methyl t-butyl ether
• methyl tert-butyl ether
• methyl tertiary butyl ether
• methyl vinyl ketone
• methyl violet
• metsulfuron-methyl
• pirimiphos-methyl
• tetramethyl
• tolclofos-methyl
• trimethyl

 

Translations

univalent hydrocarbon radical, CH₃

• Abkhaz: амети́л (ametʼíl)
• Bulgarian: метил (bg) m (metil)
• Catalan: metil (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 甲基 (gaap³ gei¹)

  Mandarin: 甲基 (zh) (jiǎjī)

• Czech: metyl (cs) m
• Danish: metyl c or n
• French: méthyle (fr) m
• Galician: metilo (gl) m
• German: Methyl n
• Greek: μεθύλιο (el) n (methýlio)
• Hindi: मेथिल f (methil)
• Italian: metile (it), metilico (it) (attributive)
• Japanese: メチル (mechiru)
• Malay: metil
• Polish: metyl (pl) m
• Portuguese: metilo m (Portugal), metila (pt) f (Brazil)
• Romanian: metil (ro) m
• Russian: мети́л (ru) m (metíl)
• Spanish: metilo m
• Ukrainian: мети́л m (metýl)

Dutch

Etymology

From meth- +‎ -yl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meːˈtil/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧thyl

Noun

methyl n (uncountable)

1. (organic chemistry) methyl