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definitions

train oil

noun
  1. oil obtained from the blubber of whales or from seals, walruses, or other marine animals.

Origin of train oil

1545–55; earlier trane < Dutch traan train oil, tear; cognate with German Träne tear
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for train oil

Historical Examples of train oil

  • Then I suppose they subsist on train-oil as well as codfish?

    The Land of Thor

    J. Ross Browne

  • Not for worlds would I undeceive the good fellow, not if this were train-oil.

    Old Junk

    H. M. Tomlinson

  • The train-oil and gunpowder were shoved out of sight in a minute.

    Wuthering Heights

    Emily Bronte

  • We cleaned the rifles thoroughly and rubbed them with train-oil.

    Farthest North

    Fridtjof Nansen

  • One by one the men in the tent were awakened, and the train-oil lamp was lit.

    A Man's Woman

    Frank Norris

British Dictionary definitions for train oil

train oil

noun
  1. oil obtained from the blubber of various marine animals, esp the whale

Word Origin for train oil

C16: from earlier train or trane, from Middle Low German trān or Middle Dutch traen tear, exudation
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