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petroleum ether

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

First recorded in 1865–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for petroleum ether

Historical Examples

  • The acid crystallized from the alcohol is then recrystallized several times from petroleum-ether.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884

    Various

British Dictionary definitions for petroleum ether

petroleum ether

noun
  1. a volatile mixture of the higher alkane hydrocarbons, obtained as a fraction of petroleum and used as a solvent
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012