text: The first named alkyl radical was ethyl, named so by Liebig in 1833 from the German word "Äther" (which in turn had been derived from the Greek word "aither" meaning "air", for the substance now known as diethyl ether) and the Greek word ύλη (hyle), meaning "matter". This was followed by methyl (Dumas and Peligot in 1834, meaning "spirit of wood") and amyl (Auguste Cahours in 1840). The word alkyl was introduced by Johannes Wislicenus in or before 1882, based on the German word "Alkoholradikale" and then-common suffix -yl.