-idenesuffix
Primary stress is attracted to the syllable immediately preceding this suffix and vowels may be reduced accordingly.
Origin: Probably formed wtihin English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: ethylidene n.
Etymology: Probably < -idene (in ethylidene n. (1858)). Compare -ylidene comb. form.Earliest attested in the second half of the 19th cent. in ethylidene n., an adaptation of a French chemical name. Formations within English are found slightly later (also from the second half of the 19th cent.), apparently earliest in benzylidene n. On the use of the suffix compare:1927 Chem. Abstr. 21 4576/1 -idene added to any radical usually means a double bond at point of attachment.1966 Nomencl. Org. Chem. (I.U.P.A.C.) (ed. 2) A. 16 Bivalent and trivalent radicals derived from univalent acyclic hydrocarbon radicals whose authorized names end in ‘-yl’ by removal of one or two hydrogen atoms from the carbon atom with the free valences are named by adding ‘-idene’ or ‘-idyne’, respectively, to the name of the corresponding univalent radical.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2019).