petroleum ether

American  

noun

1. a flammable, low-boiling hydrocarbon mixture produced by the fractional distillation of petroleum, used as a solvent.

---

petroleum ether British  

noun

1. a volatile mixture of the higher alkane hydrocarbons, obtained as a fraction of petroleum and used as a solvent

---

Etymology

Origin of petroleum ether

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Determine the amount of pressure applied to the floor of the drum if the petroleum ether fills the drum to its top.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The molecularly lighter substances are given off, beginning with petroleum ether.

From Time Magazine Archive

Carotin is insoluble in water, only very slightly soluble in acetone or cold alcohol, readily soluble in petroleum ether, ether, chloroform, and carbon disulfide.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred

The solutions are put together, and the petroleum ether distilled off in vacuo at a low temperature, until there remains in the flask a dark brown sirup, which on cooling solidifies into a crystalline mass.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various

There remains on the filter a highly colored crystalline "cake," which should be pulverized with a small quantity of petroleum ether and again filtered.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various