PARAFFIN


Meaning of PARAFFIN in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈper-ə-fən, ˈpa-rə- ]

noun

Etymology: German, from Latin parum too little (akin to Greek pauros little, paid-, pais child) + affinis bordering on — more at few , affinity

Date: 1838

1.

a. : a waxy crystalline flammable substance obtained especially from distillates of wood, coal, petroleum, or shale oil that is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and is used chiefly in coating and sealing, in candles, in rubber compounding, and in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics

b. : any of various mixtures of similar hydrocarbons including mixtures that are semisolid or oily

2. : alkane

3. chiefly British : kerosene

• par·af·fin·ic ˌper-ə-ˈfi-nik, pa-rə- adjective

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.