vaseline

See also: Vaseline

English

Etymology

    From German Wasser (water) +‎ Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, oil) +‎ -ine. Genericized trademark of the Vaseline brand of petroleum jelly introduced by American chemist Robert Chesebrough in 1872.[1]

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    vaseline (countable and uncountable, plural vaselines)

    1. Petroleum jelly.
      • 1930, Aldous Huxley, Brief Candles:
        Hearts of putty, hearts of vaseline...
    2. Any particular kind of petroleum jelly or of any similar lubricant.
      • 1882, Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry:
        A Russian vaseline has been lately added to the many kinds of vaseline found in []
    3. (informal) Ellipsis of Vaseline glass, or the coloring used in making it.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Chinese:
    • French: vaseline
    • Irish: veasailín
    • Polish: wazelina
    • Thai: วาสลีน (wáat-sà-liin)

    Translations

    Verb

    vaseline (third-person singular simple present vaselines, present participle vaselining, simple past and past participle vaselined)

    1. To lubricate with vaseline.
      Even at this late date, vaselining will preserve the best of these leathers.

    Translations

    References

    Anagrams

    Dutch

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English vaseline.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /vaː.səˈli.nə/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Hyphenation: va‧se‧li‧ne
    • Rhymes: -inə

    Noun

    vaseline f (plural vaselines, no diminutive)

    1. vaseline, petroleum jelly, petrolatum
      Synonym: petrolatum n

    French

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English. Genericized trademark.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    vaseline f (uncountable)

    1. vaseline

    Descendants

    Further reading