Dictionary

naphtha en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈnæfθə/
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈnæpθə/

Etymology

Etymology tree Akkadian napṭumbor.? Old Persian *naftahbor. Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha)bor. Latin naphthabor. English naphtha From Latin naphtha, from Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha, “naphtha”), from Old Persian *naftah, probably borrowed or assimilated from Akkadian 𒉌𒆳𒊏 (napṭu, “naphtha”) . The Greek mediation is reflected in the spelling – ‘ph’ and ‘th’ (from ‘φ’ and ‘θ’).

Meanings

1. (countable, dated, uncountable) Naturally occurring liquid petroleum.
2. (countable, uncountable) Any of a wide variety of aliphatic or aromatic liquid hydrocarbon mixtures distilled from petroleum or coal tar, especially as used in solvents or petrol.
   • No, this is not a disentanglement from, but a progressive knotting into — they go in under archways, secret entrances of rotted concrete that only looked like loops of an underpass... certain trestles of blackened wood have moved slowly by overhead, and the smells begun of coal from days far to the past, smells of naphtha winters, of Sundays when no traffic came through... 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:
   • The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
   • The Common Room and the Library were lit by anbaric light, but the Scholars preferred the older, softer naphtha lamps in the Retiring Room. 1995, Philip Pullman, Northern Lights:

Forms

Deriveds

naphthalide · naphthenic · naphthalene · naphtha lamp · napalm · naphthalenide · naphthacene · naphthalimide · naphthene

Descendants

나프타 · ナフサ

Translations (41)

ja ナフサ (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · sh на̏фта (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · tr neft (liquid distilled from petroleum) · cmn 石腦油 /石脑油 (liquid distilled from petroleum) · it nafta (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · pt nafta (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · uk на́фта (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · akk napṭum (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · ar نَفْط (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · la naphtha (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · ga nafta (liquid distilled from petroleum) · xcl նաւթ (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · scn nàffita (liquid distilled from petroleum) · ja ナフサ (liquid distilled from petroleum) · he נֵפְט (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · fr naphte (liquid distilled from petroleum) · cs ropa (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · cs nafta (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · scn nàffita (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · pl benzyna surowa (liquid distilled from petroleum) · fi jae (liquid distilled from petroleum) · ru лигрои́н (liquid distilled from petroleum) · it nafta (liquid distilled from petroleum) · pl ropa naftowa (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · sh nȁfta (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · sh nȁfta (liquid distilled from petroleum) · ru на́фта (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · de Naphtha (liquid distilled from petroleum) · pt nafta (liquid distilled from petroleum) · el νάφθα (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · grc νάφθα (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · sh на̏фта (liquid distilled from petroleum) · de Naphtha (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · fi nafta (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · fa نفت (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · fi öljyjae (liquid distilled from petroleum) · fr naphte (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · ko 나프타 (liquid distilled from petroleum) · ru на́фта (liquid distilled from petroleum) · ru нефть (naturally occurring liquid petroleum) · yue 石腦油 /石脑油 (liquid distilled from petroleum)