Editing Ethanol (section)

== Name ==
''Ethanol'' is the [[systematic name]] [[IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry|defined]] by the [[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]] for a compound consisting of an [[alkyl group]] with two carbon [[atom]]s (prefix "eth-"), having a single bond between them (infix "-an-") and an attached −OH [[functional group]] (suffix "-ol").<ref name="Pubchem">{{cite web | title=Ethanol – Compound Summary | url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?cid=702 | website=The PubChem Project | location=Bethesda, MD | publisher=National Center for Biotechnology Information}}</ref>

The "eth-" prefix and the qualifier "ethyl" in "ethyl alcohol" originally came from the name "ethyl" assigned in 1834 to the group {{chem|C|2|H|5}}− by [[Justus von Liebig|Justus Liebig]]. He coined the word from the [[German language|German]] name ''Aether'' of the compound {{chem|C|2|H|5}}−O−{{chem|C|2|H|5}} (commonly called "ether" in [[English language|English]], more specifically called "[[diethyl ether]]").<ref>{{cite journal | last=Liebig | first=Justus | name-list-style=vanc | year=1834 | title=Ueber die Constitution des Aethers und seiner Verbindungen | trans-title=On the constitution of ether and its compounds | language=de | doi=10.1002/andp.18341072202 | journal=Annalen der Pharmacie | volume=9 | issue=22 | pages=1–39 | quote=From page 18: "''Bezeichnen wir die Kohlenwasserstoffverbindung 4C + 10H als das Radikal des Aethers mit E<sub>2</sub> und nennen es Ethyl'', ..." (Let us designate the hydrocarbon compound 4C + 10H as the radical of ether with E<sub>2</sub> and name it ethyl ...). | bibcode=1834AnP...107..337L | url=https://zenodo.org/record/1423568}}</ref> According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', ''Ethyl'' is a contraction of the Ancient Greek [[wikt:αἰθήρ#Ancient Greek|αἰθήρ]] (''{{transliteration|grc|aithḗr}}'', "upper air") and the Greek word [[wikt:ὕλη#Ancient Greek|ὕλη]] (''{{transliteration|grc|hýlē}}'', "wood, raw material", hence "matter, substance").<ref>{{OEtymD|ethyl}}</ref> ''Ethanol'' was coined as a result of a resolution on naming alcohols and phenols that was adopted at the International Conference on [[Chemical nomenclature|Chemical Nomenclature]] that was held in April 1892 in [[Geneva]], Switzerland.<ref>For a report on the 1892 International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature, see:
* {{cite journal | last=Armstrong | first=Henry | name-list-style=vanc | year=1892 | url={{google books | plainurl=y | id=LHkCAAAAIAAJ | page=56}} | title=The International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature | journal=Nature | volume=46 | pages=56–59 | doi=10.1038/046056c0 | issue=1177 | bibcode=1892Natur..46...56A | doi-access=free}}
* Armstrong's report is reprinted with the resolutions in English in: {{cite journal | last=Armstrong | first=Henry | name-list-style=vanc | year=1892 | url={{google books | plainurl=y | id=RogMAQAAIAAJ | page=398}} | title=The International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature | journal=The Journal of Analytical and Applied Chemistry | volume=6 | issue=1177 | pages=390–400 (398) | quote=The alcohols and the phenols will be called after the name of the hydrocarbon from which they are derived, terminated with the suffix ''ol'' (ex. pentanol, pentynol, etc.) | bibcode=1892Natur..46...56A | doi=10.1038/046056c0 | doi-access=free}}</ref>

The term ''alcohol'' now refers to a wider class of substances in chemistry nomenclature, but in common parlance it remains the name of ethanol. It is a medieval loan from [[Arabic]] {{nowrap|''[[Kohl (cosmetics)|al-kuḥl]]''}}, a powdered ore of [[antimony]] used since antiquity as a cosmetic, and retained that meaning in [[Middle Latin]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Multhauf | first=Robert P. | author-link=Robert P. Multhauf | year=1966 | title=The Origins of Chemistry | location=London | publisher=Oldbourne | isbn=9782881245947}} p. 205; [[OED]]; [[etymonline.com]]</ref> The use of 'alcohol' for ethanol (in full, "alcohol of wine") was first recorded in 1753. Before the late 18th century the term ''alcohol'' generally referred to any sublimated substance.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Berthelot | first1=Marcellin | author1-link=Marcellin Berthelot | last2=Houdas | first2=Octave V. | year=1893 | title=La Chimie au Moyen Âge | volume=I | location=Paris | publisher=Imprimerie nationale | page=136}}</ref>