From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
From phenyl + methyl.
phenylmethyl
- (organic chemistry) Benzyl: the cyclic radical, ion or functional group having the formula C6H5CH2
1997, T.W. Graham Solomons, Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry[1], →ISBN, page 573:The name benzyl is an alternative name for the phenylmethyl group.