Etymograph

English

ethyl

Ethyl comes from German Ethyl, and goes back to Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη ‘wood’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῡ̔́λη1hū́lē‘wood’
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentEthyl1
  3. Englishtodayethyl1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ethyl

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῡ̔́ληWiktionary, English ethylhū́lē‘wood’
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentEthylWiktionary, English ethyl
  3. EnglishtodayethylWiktionary, English ethyl

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swel-

swell, swollen, swole, swill, 35 more

through Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη ‘wood’

isopropyl, phenyl, ethane, 22 more

Today it means

noun The univalent hydrocarbon radical, C₂H₅, formally derived from ethane by the loss of a hydrogen atom.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ethyl”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη / ethyl

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