methylene Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the bivalent radical CH2 derived from methane
    methylene group; methylene radical.

WordNet

Meth"yl*ene noun
Etymology
F. méthylène, from Gr. wine + wood; -- a word coined to correspond to the name wood spirit.
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) A hydrocarbon radical, CH2, not known in the free state, but regarded as an essential residue and component of certain derivatives of methane; as, methylene bromide, CH2Br2; -- formerly called also methene.

Webster 1913