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Webster 1913 Edition

Methyl

Meth′yl

,
Noun.
[See
Methylene
.]
(Chem.)
A univalent hydrocarbon radical,
CH3-
, not existing alone but regarded as an essential residue of methane, and appearing as a component part of many derivatives;
as,
methyl
alcohol,
methyl
ether,
methyl
amine, etc.
[Formerly written also
methule
,
methyle
, etc.]
Methyl alcohol
(Chem.)
,
a light, volatile, inflammable liquid,
CH3.OH
, obtained by the distillation of wood, and hence called
wood alcohol
or
wood spirit
; tecnically referred to as
methanol
; – called also
methol
,
carbinol
, etc.
–
Methyl amine
(Chem.)
,
a colorless, inflammable, alkaline gas,
CH3.NH2
, having an ammoniacal, fishy odor. It is produced artificially, and also occurs naturally in herring brine and other fishy products. It is regarded as ammonia in which a third of its hydrogen is replaced by methyl, and is a type of the class of
substituted ammonias
.
–
Methyl ether
(Chem.)
,
a light, volatile ether
CH3.O.CH3
, obtained by the etherification of methyl alcohol; – called also
methyl oxide
or
dimethyl ether
.
–
Methyl green
.
(Chem.)
See under
Green
,
Noun.
–
Methyl orange
.
(Chem.)
See
Helianthin
.
–
Methyl violet
(Chem.)
,
an artificial dye, consisting of certain methyl halogen derivatives of rosaniline.

Definition 2025

Methyl

Methyl

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

German

Noun

Methyl n ‎(genitive Methyls, no plural)

  1. methyl

methyl

methyl

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

English

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

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /meːˈtil/
  • Hyphenation: me‧thyl

Etymology

From meth- +‎ -yl.

Noun

methyl n ‎(uncountable)

  1. (organic chemistry) methyl

Etymology

From the German Methyl; compare the 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 (patch of trees)”) with the intention of highlighting its origins, "alcohol made from wood (substance)", but with Greek language errors: the Greek for "wood (substance)" is xylo- (Ancient Greek ξύλον ‎(xúlon, “wood”)). The term "methyl" was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from "methylene", and was then applied to describe "methyl alcohol".

Pronunciation

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