English Explanatory Dictionary

paraffin

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A petroleum-based thin and colourless fuel oil.
  2. Any member of the alkane hydrocarbons.
  3. Paraffin wax.
verb
  1. To impregnate or treat with paraffin.
  2. To embed in paraffin wax.

Pronunciation

/ˈpæɹ.ə.fɪn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-paraffin.wav /ˈpɛɹ.ə.fɪn/

Word forms

paraffin paraffins paraffine paraffining paraffined

Etymology

From Latin paraffinum, from parum (too little) + affinis (related, affinity). Therefore low affinity or being chemically neutral.

Synonyms

kerosene

Derived words

chloroparaffin cycloparaffin deparaffinate histoparaffin isoparaffin liquid paraffin nitroparaffin nonparaffin parafango paraffinate paraffinic paraffinization paraffinize paraffin oil paraffinoma paraffin paper paraffin scale paraffin test paraffiny soft paraffin
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on P Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary