ethane

noun

Etymology: Etymology 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- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Latin -nus Latin -ānusder. English -ane English ethane From eth- + -ane.

1. An aliphatic hydrocarbon, C₂H₆, gaseous at normal temperatures and pressures, being a constituent of natural gas.
2. The same compound, subjected to modification by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with other radicals.

   “chlorinated ethanes; halogenated ethanes”

   “The dissociation constants for ethanes in which the two halves of the molecule are different are not always close to the mean of the dissociation constants of the corresponding symmetrical ethanes.”