Paraffin

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Paraffin \Par"af*fin\ (p[a^]r"[a^]f*f[i^]n), Paraffine
  \Par"af*fine\ (p[a^]r"[a^]f*f[i^]n or p[a^]r"[a^]f*f[=e]n), n.
     [F. paraffine, fr. L. parum too little + affinis akin. So
     named in allusion to its chemical inactivity.] (Chem.)
     A white waxy substance, resembling spermaceti, tasteless and
     odorless, and obtained from coal tar, wood tar, petroleum,


     etc., by distillation. It is used in candles, as a sealing
     agent (such as in canning of preserves), as a waterproofing
     agent, as an illuminant and as a lubricant. It is very inert,
     not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents.
     It was formerly regarded as a definite compound, but is now
     known to be a complex mixture of several higher hydrocarbons
     of the methane or marsh-gas series; hence, by extension, any
     substance, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, of the same
     chemical series; thus gasoline, coal gas and kerosene consist
     largely of paraffins.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     Note: In the present chemical usage this word is spelled
           paraffin, but in commerce it is commonly spelled
           paraffine.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Native paraffin}. See {Ozocerite}.
  
     {Paraffin series}. See {Methane series}, under {Methane}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  paraffin
       n 1: from crude petroleum; used for candles and for preservative
            or waterproof coatings [syn: {paraffin wax}]
       2: a non-aromatic saturated hydrocarbon with the general
          formula CnH(2n+2) [syn: {methane series}, {alkane series},
           {alkane}]
       3: British usage [syn: {paraffin oil}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "paraffin":
     alcohol, avgas, benzine, briquette, burnable, butane, carbon,
     charcoal, coal, coal oil, coke, combustible, crude, crude oil,
     dope, electricity, ethane, ethanol, ethyl, ethyl gas, fireball,
     firing, flammable, flammable material, fossil oil, fuel,
     fuel additive, fuel dope, gas, gas carbon, gasoline, heptane,
     hexane, high-octane gas, high-test, illuminant, illuminating gas,
     inflammable, inflammable material, isooctane, jet fuel, kerosene,
     lead-free gas, light source, low-lead gas, luminant, methane,
     methanol, motor oil, natural gas, octane, oil, peat, pentane,
     petrol, petroleum, premium gas, propane, propellant, regular,
     rock oil, rocket fuel, turf