1873, from ethyl + -ane, the appropriate suffix under Hofmann's system.
Entries linking to ethane
ethyl n.
1838, from German ethyl (Liebig, 1834), from ether + -yl. Ethyl alcohol, under other names, was widely used in medicine by 13c.
-ane
word-forming element in chemical use, indicating a chain of carbon atoms with no double bonds, proposed 1866 by German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818-1892) to go with -ene, -ine (2), -one.
ethanol n.
"ethyl alcohol," 1900, contracted from ethane, to which it is the corresponding alcohol, + -ol, here indicating alcohol.