Meaning

noun a flammable colorless gaseous alkene; obtained from petroleum and natural gas and used in manufacturing many other chemicals; sometimes used as an anesthetic

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ-der. Proto-Hellenic *áitʰō Ancient Greek αἴθω (aíthō) ▲ Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)influ.? Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr)der. Latin aethērbor. German Äther German Ether Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.? Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der. German -yl German Ethylbor. English ethyl English eth- English -ylene English ethylene From eth- + -ylene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0