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paraffin
par·af·fin
[
párrəfin
]
noun
(
plural
par·af·fins
)
Definition:
1.
fuel oil:
a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum and used as a domestic heating fuel and as fuel for aircraft.
See also
kerosene
2.
industry
Same as
paraffin wax
3.
chemistry
Same as
alkane
transitive verb
(
past and past participle
par·af·fined
,
present participle
par·af·fin·ing
,
3rd person present singular
par·af·fins
)
Definition:
treat with kerosene:
to treat something by saturating, impregnating, or coating it with kerosene or paraffin wax
[
Mid-19th century. < Latin
parum
"little" +
affinis
"related"; because not closely related to any other substance
]
par·af·fin·ic
[
pàrrə fínnik
]
adjective
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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par·af·fin·ic [ pàrrə fínnik ] adjective
