Mesyl

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chemical group derived from methanesulfonic acid, often used to modify molecules in organic synthesis ; an abbreviation for the methanesulfonyl functional group in chemistry
2. The methanesulfonyl group, represented as -SO2CH3, which is frequently attached to other compounds during chemical reactions ; a short form for referring to methanesulfonyl in laboratory contexts
3. A functional group in organic chemistry consisting of a sulfonyl bonded to a methyl group, employed to alter reactivity in molecules ; shorthand for methanesulfonyl used by chemists

Etymology: The name starts with methyl, a word built by chemists from Greek "methy" (wine) and "hylē" (wood, or matter), because the compound was first isolated from wood spirit. Methyl alcohol was once known as wood alcohol, so the chemical family was named for a liquid distilled from timber. Sulfonyl combines "sulfone," a compound containing sulfur, with the chemists' suffix "-yl," which marks a group of atoms that remains intact through a reaction. Methylsulfonyl is therefore a methyl group attached to a sulfonyl group. Chemists clipped the long name to "mesyl," a practical shorthand in written reactions. The spelling happens to match the Middle English word "mesel," meaning leper, which came through Old French from Late Latin. The two words are unrelated, and the resemblance is pure coincidence.

Synonyms: methanesulfonyl