naphtha
/ˈnæfθə/ noun
Forms naphthas
- noun (dated) Naturally occurring liquid petroleum.
- noun (petrochemistry) 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.
Etymology
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’).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The complex mixture of volatile, liquid, inflammable hydrocarbons, occurring naturally, and usually called crude petroleum, mineral oil, or rock oil. Specifically: That portion of the distillate obtained in the refinement of petroleum which is intermediate between the lighter gasoline and the heavier benzine, and has a specific gravity of about 0.7, --used as a solvent for varnishes, as a carburetant, illuminant, etc.
- noun One of several volatile inflammable liquids obtained by the distillation of certain carbonaceous materials and resembling the naphtha from petroleum; as, Boghead naphtha, from Boghead coal (obtained at Boghead, Scotland); crude naphtha, or light oil, from coal tar; wood naphtha, from wood, etc.
Etymology [L. naphtha, Gr. nafth, nifth.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “naphtha”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details