ˈmeˌthān noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary meth- + -ane
: a colorless odorless flammable gaseous saturated hydrocarbon CH 4 that is lighter than air and forms explosive mixtures with air or oxygen, that occurs naturally as a product of decomposition of organic matter in marshes and mines and especially in natural gas and is formed also in the carbonization of coal, and that is used chiefly as a fuel and as a raw material in the manufacture of carbon black and in chemical synthesis — see firedamp ; compare marsh gas