Definition of "ethyl" [eth•yl]

• A univalent organic radical, C2H5. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Not all alcohol-based hand cleansers contain ethyl alcohol, as this hospital case points out (also requires subscription):"
• "The liquid we call ethyl alcohol (C2H6O) is very potent."
• "The type of mercury used in vaccines, called ethyl mercury, has been found to be less toxic in humans than the methyl mercury you get from environmental sources (eating certain fish, for example)."