creosote

American  

[kree-uh-soht] / ˈkri əˌsoʊt /

noun

1. an oily liquid having a burning taste and a penetrating odor, obtained by the distillation of coal and wood tar, used mainly as a preservative for wood and as an antiseptic.

2. coal-tar creosote.

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verb (used with object)

creosoted, creosoting

1. to treat with creosote.

creosote British  

/ ˈkrɪəˌsəʊt, ˌkrɪəˈsɒtɪk /

noun

1. a colourless or pale yellow liquid mixture with a burning taste and penetrating odour distilled from wood tar, esp from beechwood, contains creosol and other phenols, and is used as an antiseptic

2. Also called: coal-tar creosote.  a thick dark liquid mixture prepared from coal tar, containing phenols: used as a preservative for wood

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verb

1. to treat (wood) with creosote

creosote Scientific  

/ krē′ə-sōt′ /

1. A yellow or brown oily liquid obtained from coal tar and used as a wood preservative and disinfectant.

2. A colorless to yellowish oily liquid containing phenols, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood tar, especially from the wood of a beech, and formerly used as an expectorant in treating chronic bronchitis.

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Other Word Forms

• creosotic adjective
• uncreosoted adjective

Etymology

Origin of creosote

< German Kreosote (1832) < Greek kreo-, combining form of kréas flesh + sōtēr savior, preserver (in reference to its antiseptic properties)