rock oil
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of rock oil
1660–70; translation of Medieval Latin petroleum
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But by fracking the rock, oil flowed from the shale.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2014
The oil mentioned in the next line, is that called the rock oil, petroleum, a black fetid mineral oil, good for bruises and sprains.
From The Lusiad or The Discovery of India, an Epic Poem by Camões, Luís de
The gold mines of California and of Australia are too well known to require mention; but we must not forget the rock oil, concealed for ages in the North American continent.
From The Mines and its Wonders by Kingston, William Henry Giles
His words are:— “Petroleum, rock oil, or what the Welsh call it, Ymenin tylwyth têg, or Fairies’ butter, has been found in the lime stone strata in our mineral country.
From Welsh Folk-Lore a Collection of the Folk-Tales and Legends of North Wales by Owen, Elias
Petroleum, or rock oil, is a dark greenish brown liquid which when refined yields gasolene, naphtha, benzine, kerosene, lubricating oils, and paraffin.
From Checking the Waste A Study in Conservation by Gregory, Mary Huston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
