# metan
## Czech
### Alternative forms

* methan

### Etymology

Borrowed from French méthane and German Methan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmɛtan]

### Noun

metan m inan
* (chemistry) methane (CH$_4$)
    Synonym: karban

#### Coordinate terms

* etan m
* propan m
* butan m
* pentan m
* hexan m
* heptan m
* oktan m
* nonan m
* dekan m
* undekan m
* dodekan m

### Further reading

* “metan”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “metan”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “metan”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Galician
### Verb

metan
* inflection of meter:
** third-person plural present subjunctive
** third-person plural imperative

## Icelandic
### Etymology

Borrowed from French méthane and German Methan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɛːtʰaːn/

### Noun

metan n (genitive singular metans, no plural)
* (organic chemistry) methane

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “metan” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

## Indonesian
### Noun

metan
* Abbreviation of media tanam (“growth medium”).

## Japanese
### Romanization

metan
* Rōmaji transcription of メタン

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Noun

metan n (definite singular metanet) (uncountable)
* (chemistry) methane (chemical symbol CH₄)

#### Derived terms

* metangass

### References

* “metan” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

### Anagrams

* manet, mante, maten, matne, menta, -menta, namet

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Noun

metan n (definite singular metanet) (uncountable)
* (chemistry) methane (as above)

### References

* “metan” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Occitan
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Noun

metan m (uncountable)
* (chemistry) methane

### Further reading

* Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians‎, 2 edition, →ISBN, page 644.
* Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, page 409.

## Old Dutch
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *metan.

### Verb

metan
* to measure

#### Descendants

* Middle Dutch: meten
** Dutch: meten
** Limburgish: maete

#### Further reading

* “metan”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

## Old English
### Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *metan, from Proto-Germanic *metaną.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈme.tɑn/

#### Verb

metan
* to measure
* to compare
** late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies
    Lōca nu þæt þū ofergemet ne wilnige, nū ðū hī tōgædere metest. Woldest þū cunnan God swā swā Alipius?Look to it now that thy desire be not beyond measure, now that thou comparest them together. Wouldst thou know God just as thou dost Alypius?
* to compare (to something = wiþ + accusative or tō + dative)
** late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
    Hit nis nā tō metenne, þæt ġeendodlīċe wiþ þæt unġeendodlīċe.It's not comparable, the finite with the infinite.

##### Usage notes

* For the phrase “compared to,” wiþ is used by itself (Hū earfoþe is Crēċisċ wiþ Lǣden? = “How hard is Greek compared to Latin?”), or with the phrase tō metenne (Hwæt eart þū wiþ mē tō metenne? = “What are you compared to me?”, literally “to compare with me”).

##### Derived terms

* āmetan
* bemetan
* efnmetan
* ġemet
* ġemetan
* metegian
* wiþmetan

##### Descendants

* Middle English: meten
** Scots: mete, meit
** English: mete

### Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *mōtijan, from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną.

#### Alternative forms

* mœ̄tan — Anglian

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmeː.tɑn/

#### Verb

mētan (West Saxon)
* to meet, encounter
* to find

##### Derived terms

* ġemētan

##### Descendants

* Middle English: meten
** English: meet
** Scots: mete, meit

### Etymology 3

Uncertain. Perhaps from Proto-West Germanic *maitijan (“to sculpt”), from Proto-Germanic *maitijaną, a byform of Proto-Germanic *maitaną (“to cut”). Compare Old High German meizan (“to hew, cut, chisel”), Old Norse meita (“to cut”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (maitan, “to cut”). Doublet of mǣtan (“to appear in a dream”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmeː.tɑn/

#### Verb

mētan
* to draw or paint

##### Synonyms

* *tīefran (“to paint”)

##### Derived terms

* āmētan
* ġemētan
* mēting
* onmētan

##### Descendants

* Middle English: meten (“to sculpt, design; paint”)

## Old Saxon
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *metan.

### Verb

metan
* to measure
* to mete

#### Descendants

* Low German: meten

## Piedmontese
### Etymology

From French méthane and German Methan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /meˈtaŋ/

### Noun

metan m
* methane (CH₄)

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from French méthane and German Methan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɛ.tan/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛtan
* Syllabification: me‧tan

### Noun

metan m inan
* methane (CH₄)

#### Derived terms

* metanowy

### Further reading

* metan in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* metan in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French méthane.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /meˈtan/

### Noun

metan n (uncountable)
* (chemistry) methane (CH₄)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* metan in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French méthane and German Methan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mětaːn/
* Hyphenation: me‧tan

### Noun

mètān m (Cyrillic spelling мѐта̄н)
* (chemistry, uncountable) methane (CH₄)

#### Declension
## Slovene
### Participle

metán
* past passive participle of metáti

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Verb

metan
* inflection of meter:
** third-person plural present subjunctive
** third-person plural imperative

## Swedish
### Etymology

From French méthane.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɛˈtɑːn/

### Noun

metan n (uncountable)
* (chemistry) methane (CH₄)

#### Synonyms

* sumpgas
* gruvgas

### Further reading

* metan in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (14th ed., online)

### Anagrams

* manet, maten, menat, teman

## Tetum
### Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(ma-)qitəm, compare Malay hitam.

### Adjective

metan
* black