[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

paraffin \par"affin\ pa^r"a^ffi^n, paraffine
\par"affine\ pa^r"a^ffi^n or pa^r"a^ff=en, n.
   f. paraffine, fr. l. parum too little + affinis akin. so
   named in allusion to its chemical inactivity. chem.
   a white waxy substance, resembling spermaceti, tasteless and
   odorless, and obtained from coal tar, wood tar, petroleum,
   etc., by distillation. it is used in candles, as a sealing
   agent such as in canning of preserves, as a waterproofing
   agent, as an illuminant and as a lubricant. it is very inert,
   not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents.
   it was formerly regarded as a definite compound, but is now
   known to be a complex mixture of several higher hydrocarbons
   of the methane or marsh-gas series; hence, by extension, any
   substance, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, of the same
   chemical series; thus gasoline, coal gas and kerosene consist
   largely of paraffins.
   1913 webster +pjc

   note: in the present chemical usage this word is spelled
         paraffin, but in commerce it is commonly spelled
         paraffine.
         1913 webster

   native paraffin. see ozocerite.

   paraffin series. see methane series, under methane.
      1913 webster
see also:
native paraffin ozocerite paraffin series methane series methane 

Paraffine >> P Words
Paraffine, definition of term: Paraffine
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