noun
paraffin
Kerosene used as fuel, especially in British English.
The British manual calls the stove's kerosene paraffin.
Etymology
The chemical name was coined to suggest little affinity, referring to weak chemical reactivity. British usage extended it to kerosene, a fuel containing such hydrocarbons.
More examples
- In the old English story, she fills a lamp with paraffin.
- The traveler learns that the shop's paraffin is a liquid fuel.
- The label says paraffin, the British term for kerosene.
Forms
paraffin