methane
UK /ˈmiːθeɪn/ · US /ˈmɛθeɪn/ noun
Forms methanes
- noun (organic chemistry, uncountable) The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases. “Cattle emit a large amount of methane.”
- noun (organic chemistry, countable) Any of very many derivatives of methane.
Synonyms
Etymology
See Methal.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A light, colorless, gaseous, inflammable hydrocarbon, CH4; marsh gas. See Marsh gas, under Gas. Methane series (Chem.), a series of saturated hydrocarbons, of which methane is the first member and type, and (because of their general chemical inertness and indifference) called also the paraffin (little affinity) series. The lightest members are gases, as methane, ethane; intermediate members are liquids, as hexane, heptane, etc. (found in benzine, kerosene, etc.); while the highest members are white, waxy, or fatty solids, as paraffin proper.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “methane”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details