paraffin, paraffin oil
(noun) (British usage) kerosine
paraffin, paraffin wax
(noun) from crude petroleum; used for candles and for preservative or waterproof coatings
Source: WordNet® 3.1
paraffin (countable and uncountable, plural paraffins)
(UK) A petroleum-based thin and colorless fuel oil
Synonym: kerosene
(chemistry) Any member of the alkane hydrocarbons.
Paraffin wax.
paraffin (third-person singular simple present paraffins, present participle paraffining, simple past and past participle paraffined)
To impregnate or treat with paraffin.
To embed in paraffin wax.
Source: Wiktionary
Par"af*fin, Par"af*fine, n. Etym: [F. paraffine, fr. L. parum too little + affinis akin. So named in allusion to its chemical inactivity.] (Chem.)
Definition: A white waxy substance, resembling spermaceti, tasteless and odorless, and obtained from coal tar, wood tar, petroleum, etc., by distillation. It is used as an illuminant and lubricant. It is very inert, not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents. It was formerly regarded as a definite compound, but is now known to be a complex mixture of several higher hydrocarbons of the methane or marsh-gas series; hence, by extension, any substance, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, of the same chemical series; thus coal gas and kerosene consist largely of paraffins.
Note: In the present chemical usage this word is spelt paraffin, but in commerce it is commonly spelt paraffine. Native paraffin. See Ozocerite.
– Paraffin series. See Methane series, under Methane.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
19 April 2025
(verb) grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of; “did you catch that allusion?”; “We caught something of his theory in the lecture”; “don’t catch your meaning”; “did you get it?”; “She didn’t get the joke”; “I just don’t get him”
Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.
