Ethernet was named after the
luminiferous ether, through which
electromagnetic radiation was once thought to propogate.
After the
Xerox Ethernet became successful,
Xerox,
DEC, and
Intel joined forces (
Wonder Twin Powers activate!) and drew up a
standard for a 10Mbps Ethernet, which formed the basis for
802.3. The term
Ethernet refers to a specific product, not to all
CSMA/CD protocols. It actually refers to the
cable (see above write-up).