naphtha

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word naphtha. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word naphtha, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say naphtha in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word naphtha you have here. The definition of the word naphtha will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofnaphtha, 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

Etymology

From Latin naphtha, from Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha, naphtha), from Old Persian *naftah, probably borrowed or assimilated from Akkadian 𒉌𒆳𒊏 (/⁠napṭu⁠/, petroleum) , from the verb 𒈾𒁀𒂅 (na-ba-ṭu /⁠napâṭu, nabâṭu⁠/, to be(come) bright, to shine; to flare up, to blaze). The Greek mediation is reflected in the spelling – ‘ph’ and ‘th’ (from ‘φ’ and ‘θ’).

Pronunciation

Noun

naphtha (countable and uncountable, plural naphthas)

  1. (dated) Naturally occurring liquid petroleum.
  2. (petrochemistry) Any of a wide variety of aliphatic or aromatic liquid hydrocarbon mixtures distilled from petroleum or coal tar, especially as used in solvents or petrol.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. [] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.
    • 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:
      No, this is not a disentanglement from, but a progressive knotting into — they go in under archways, secret entrances of rotted concrete that only looked like loops of an underpass... certain trestles of blackened wood have moved slowly by overhead, and the smells begun of coal from days far to the past, smells of naphtha winters, of Sundays when no traffic came through...
    • 1995, Philip Pullman, Northern Lights:
      The Common Room and the Library were lit by anbaric light, but the Scholars preferred the older, softer naphtha lamps in the Retiring Room.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Japanese: ナフサ (nafusa)
  • Korean: 나프타 (napeuta)

Translations

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha).

Pronunciation

Noun

naphtha f (genitive naphthae); first declension

  1. naphtha

Declension

First-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative naphtha naphthae
genitive naphthae naphthārum
dative naphthae naphthīs
accusative naphtham naphthās
ablative naphthā naphthīs
vocative naphtha naphthae

Descendants

References

  • naphtha”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • naphtha in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.