methylene

[ meth-uh-leen ]

/ ˈmɛθ əˌlin /

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Origin of methylene

<French méthylène (coined in 1834), equivalent to Greek méth(y) wine (see mead¹) + hýl(ē) wood + French -ène-ene, taken to mean “wood-spirits” (vin ou liqueur spiritueuse du bois), though elements of the compound are in the wrong order to give this sense

Words nearby methylene

methyl chloride, methyl chloroform, methyl chloroformate, methylcyclohexanol, methyldopa, methylene, methylene blue, methylene chloride, methylene dioxyamphetamine, methylene group, methylene iodide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use methylene in a sentence

The most promising of the methods which have been devised are cryoscopy, the methylene-blue test, and the phloridzin test.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The pseudoscientific synonym pheno-methylene-formate carries the idea that Pyo-Atoxin is a definite chemical substance.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
Counterstain in methylene blue, aqueous solution thirty seconds.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
Counterstain with Kuehne's carbolic methylene-blue for one or two minutes.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre

Stain carbolic methylene-blue, carbolic fuchsin, and Gram's method.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre

British Dictionary definitions for methylene

methylene

/ (ˈmɛθɪˌliːn) /

noun

(modifier) of, consisting of, or containing the divalent group of atoms =CH 2a methylene group or radical

Word Origin for methylene

C19: from French méthylène, from Greek methu wine + hulē wood + -ene : originally referring to a substance distilled from wood

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for methylene

methylene

[ mĕth′ə-lēn′ ]

A bivalent hydrocarbon radical, CH2. Because it has two unshared electrons, it is extremely reactive and occurs only as an intermediate byproduct in chemical reactions. Methylene is a component of unsaturated hydrocarbons.