gasoline

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word gasoline. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word gasoline, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say gasoline in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word gasoline you have here. The definition of the word gasoline will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofgasoline, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Gasoline in a Mason jar
A typical gasoline container holds 1.03 U.S. gallons (3.9 litres)

Alternative forms

  • gasolene (archaic in America except in Jamaica)

Etymology

From Cazeline (possibly influenced by Gazeline, the name of an Irish copy), a brand of petroleum-derived lighting oil, from the surname of the man who first marketed it in 1862, John Cassell, and the suffix –eline. The name Cassell is from Anglo-Norman castel (cognate of English castle), from Old French castel, from Latin castellum, diminutive of castrum. The suffix -eline is from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, oil, olive oil), from ἐλαία (elaía, olive). Gasolene is found from 1863, and gasoline from 1864.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈɡæs.ə.liːn/
    • (US, dialectal) IPA(key): /ɡæsl̩ˈin/, /ɡæsˈlin/, ,
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -iːn

Noun

gasoline (usually uncountable, plural gasolines)

  1. (uncountable, Canada, US) A flammable liquid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly used as a motor fuel; petrol.
    • 1864, Congress of the United States, Internal Revenue Act §94:
      [] naphtha of specific gravity exceeding eighty degrees [] and of the kind usually known as gasoline, shall be subject to a tax of five per centum ad valorem.
    • 1991, Backdraft, Robert DeNiro (actor):
      So you punched out a window for ventilation. Was that before or after you noticed you were standing in a lake of gasoline?
    • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, “New Jersey Continues to Cope with Hurricane Sandy”, in New York Times, retrieved 31 October 2012:
      Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.
  2. (countable) Any specific kind of gasoline.
    The refinery produces a wide range of gasolines.
  3. (slang, drugs) Marijuana, especially very potent or high quality.
    Synonym: gas
  4. (slang) An alcoholic beverage made of vodka and energy drink.

Usage notes

Gasoline is defined by its combustion properties rather than by chemical composition, which is quite variable.

Synonyms

  • gas (North America)
  • petrol (UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Adjective

gasoline (not comparable)

  1. Made from or using gasoline.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion:
      If successful, Edison and Ford—in 1914—would move society away from the ever more expensive and then universally known killing hazards of gasoline cars: […] .

References

  1. ^ The Solicitors' Journal and Reporter, volume 9, 1865, page 368
  2. ^ John Lloyd, John Mitchinson (2012) 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off, Faber & Faber, →ISBN.
  3. ^ “Last name: Cassell”, in Surname Database, 2017, archived from the original on 29 July 2010
  4. ^ The origin of gasoline”, in Oxford Dictionary, 2012, archived from the original on 7 November 2012

Italian

Noun

gasoline f

  1. plural of gasolina

Anagrams