noun1. Also called: paraffin oil or (esp US and Canadian) kerosene a liquid mixture consisting mainly of alkane hydrocarbons with boiling points in the range 150°–300°C, used as an aircraft fuel, in domestic heaters, and as a solvent
2. another name for alkane
3. paraffin wax
4. liquid paraffin
verb (transitive)5. to treat with paraffin or paraffin wax
Word origin
C19: from German, from Latin
parum too little +
affinis adjacent; so called from its chemical inertia