paraffin en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈpæɹ.ə.fɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈpɛɹ.ə.fɪn/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Latin paraffinum, from parum (too little) + affinis (related, affinity). Therefore low affinity or being chemically neutral.
Meanings
-
(Ireland, UK, countable, uncountable) A petroleum-based thin and colourless fuel oil.
She poured paraffin on the dry floors and on the pandanus-mats, and then she set fire.
1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 57”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:The paper found high levels of phased-out flame retardants like PCBs and PBDEs, as well as allegedly safe, newer replacements chemicals, such as chlorinated paraffins and organophosphates, across the globe.
2023 October 18, Tom Perkins, “Flame retardant pollution threatens wildlife on all continents, research finds”, in The Guardian:
- (countable, uncountable) Any member of the alkane hydrocarbons.
- (countable, uncountable) Paraffin wax.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| paraffins | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| paraffine | alternative, dated | lexicographic |
Deriveds
chloroparaffin · liquid paraffin · paraffinization · paraffin oil · parafango · paraffinize · deparaffinate · paraffinic · paraffin paper · paraffinoma · cycloparaffin · histoparaffin · paraffiny · paraffinate · nonparaffin · nitroparaffin · isoparaffin · paraffin scale · paraffin test · soft paraffin
Synonyms
Translations (23)
hy պարաֆին (alkane hydrocarbon) · be парафі́н (alkane hydrocarbon) · sv paraffin (alkane hydrocarbon) · pl alkan (alkane hydrocarbon) · es parafina (alkane hydrocarbon) · ca parafina (alkane hydrocarbon) · nl paraffine (alkane hydrocarbon) · fr paraffine (alkane hydrocarbon) · el παραφίνη (alkane hydrocarbon) · bg парафи́н (alkane hydrocarbon) · fi alkaani (alkane hydrocarbon) · tl parapina (alkane hydrocarbon) · uk парафі́н (alkane hydrocarbon) · ko 파라핀 (alkane hydrocarbon) · hu paraffin (alkane hydrocarbon) · pl parafina (alkane hydrocarbon) · tl malapagkit (alkane hydrocarbon) · ru парафи́н (alkane hydrocarbon) · ja パラフィン (alkane hydrocarbon) · ka პარაფინი (alkane hydrocarbon) · it paraffina (alkane hydrocarbon) · et alkaan (alkane hydrocarbon) · th พาราฟิน (alkane hydrocarbon)