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méthyle

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Etymology and origin of the French word méthyle

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1839 Berzelius, Traité de chimie More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek μέθυ,ὕλη
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French méthyle
English methyl
From the same root
English methadone ← methyl

Forms

méthyle m (plural méthyles)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French méthyl- + -yle, méthyl- being the stem of méthylène.[2][3] The expected compound ⟨méthylyle⟩ was shortened by haplology.[2] Bloch and Wartburg describe the word as taken from the name of that radical on the model of éthyle,[4] and Wiktionary and the Robert dictionaries simply derive it from there.[1][5][6]

The parent word was coined in 1834 by Dumas and Peligot from Ancient Greek μέθυ (méthu, “wine, fermented drink”) and ὕλη (húlē, “wood”), with the suffix -ène, to put into learned language the common name for wood alcohol, “spirit of wood”.[3][2][1] Rey adds that the Greek word for wine is an old Indo-European word for honey, also found in Baltic, Slavic and Celtic.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1839, in the French translation of Berzelius's Traité de chimie, as the name of a radical of organic chemistry.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its chemical sense, a univalent radical, CH₃, derived from méthane, present in many organic compounds.[2][3] The GLLF credits it to Henri Victor Regnault in 1839, and Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1840, in Regnault.[7][4]

It gave about ten chemical terms: méthylique (1835, alcool méthylique 1844), méthyler and méthylation (1903), and compounds such as méthylamine (1873).[3] English methyl is recorded from 1840, from German or directly from the French word.[8]

Timeline

  • 1835 – Dumas and Peligot publish méthylène (read in 1834).[2][3]
  • 1839 – Méthyle appears in Berzelius's Traité de chimie.[2]
  • 1840 – Bloch and Wartburg's date, in Regnault.[4]
  • 1840 – English methyl is recorded.[8]
  • 1903 – Méthyler and méthylation appear.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (chemistry) methyl, the univalent radical CH₃ derived from méthane: du chlorure de méthyle, du salicylate de méthyle.[2][6]

Word family

  • méthylique
  • méthyler
  • méthylation
  • méthylamine

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Méthyle.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/m%C3%A9thyle. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·