[74] Berzelius’ Jahresbericht, xv. p. 372.
Liebig, examining the product of distillation of alcohol, sulphuric acid and amber, found a substance which he termed Aldehyd, from the words Alcohol dehydrogenated[75]. This mode of making Words has been strongly objected to by Mr. Dumas[76]. Still more has he objected to the word Mercaptan (of Zeise), which 366 he says rests upon a mere play of words; for it means both mercurium captans and mercurio aptum.
[75] Ibid. xvi. p. 308.
[76] Leçons de Chimie, p. 354.
Dumas and Peligot, working on pyroligneous acids, found reason to believe the existence of a substance[77] which they called methylene, deriving the name from methy, a spirituous fluid, and hyle, wood. Berzelius remarks that the name should rather be methyl, and that ὕλη may be taken in its signification of matter, to imply the Radical of Wine: and he proposes that the older Æther-Radical, C4 H10 shall be called Æthyl, the newer, C2 H6, Methyl.
[77] Berzelius’ Jahresbericht, xv. (1836).
This notion of marking by the termination yl the hypothetical compound radical of a series of chemical compounds has been generally adopted; and, as we see from the above reference, it must be regarded as representing the Greek word ὕλη: and such hypothetical radicals of bases have been termed in general basyls.
Bunsen obtained from Cadet’s fuming liquid a substance which he called Alkarsin (alkali-arsenic?): and the substance produced from this by oxidation he called Alkargen[78]. Berzelius was of opinion, that the true view of its composition was that it contained a compound ternary radical = C6 H12 As2, after the manner of organic bodies; and he proposed for this the name[79] Kakodyl. Alkarsin is Kakodyl-oxyd, K̇d, Alkargen is Kakodyl-acid, K̈̇d.
[78] Ibid. xviii. p. 497.
[79] Ibid. xx. p. 527.