Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ethane” come from?

Ethane comes from English ethyl plus the suffix -ane, with ethyl derived from Latin -anus and -um combining to form the chemical nomenclature for saturated hydrocarbons.

ethane (English): An aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH, gaseous at normal...

Definitions

  1. An aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH, gaseous at normal...

Ancestry of “ethane”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishänstill, yet; no matter; than; in comparisons,...
2EnglishonIn the state of being active, functioning or...
3Middle Englishonon, in; on; Alternative form of oon
4Old Englishonon, in, at, among; from
5Proto-West Germanicanaon
6Proto-Germanic*an—
7Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “ethane”

  • trichloroethane
  • ethanoic
  • ethanoate
  • dibromoethane
  • chloroethane
  • bromoethane
  • nitroethane
  • iodoethane
  • ethanedithiol
  • epoxyethane
  • aminoethane
  • hexafluoroethane
  • diiodoethane
  • monochloroethane
  • dicyanoethane
  • pentafluoroethane
  • ethanium
  • diazoethane
  • ethionic
  • geoethane
  • ethanedinitrile
  • dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
  • etan
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →