*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -ylene

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der. Frenchder. English -yl English -ene English -ylene From ethylene and amylene, where the -yl- is etymological. Sense 2 from -yl + -ene.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Synonym of -ene · used to form the names of bivalent radicals

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der. Frenchder. English -yl English -ene English -ylene From ethylene and amylene, where the -yl- is etymological. Sense 2 from -yl + -ene.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Word-formation component-ylen
  • Word-formation component-eneen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "-yl",
        "4": "-ene<id:organic chemistry>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nAncient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der.\nFrenchder.\nEnglish -yl\nEnglish -ene\nEnglish -ylene\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"ῡ̔́λη\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-yl\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"organic chemistry\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ene\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ylene\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ylene\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-yl",
        "3": "-ene"
      },
      "expansion": "-yl + -ene"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "-yl",
        "4": "-ene<id:organic chemistry>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *swel-der.?\nAncient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der.\nFrenchder.\nEnglish -yl\nFrench -ènebor.\nEnglish -ene\nEnglish -ylene"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ῡ̔́λη",
      "ὕλη#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-yl",
      "-yl#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ene",
      "-ene#English:_organic_chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "ethylene",
      "ethylene#English"
    ],
    [
      "amylene",
      "amylene#English"
    ],
    [
      "-yl",
      "-yl#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ene",
      "-ene#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of -ene",
        "used to form the names of bivalent radicals"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "08c4a7d77d2416e3e8ba1695ffac11eaff8f439c043f70bc5ab608cd0ea43fb8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8d6222c1ca13d14960f14c77b7ec9546963f3929854841789f6b7fa4f12aed29",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2678305
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -ylene →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LXlsZW5l