Gasoline

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈɡæs.É™.lin/ US, dialectal: /gæslÌ© ˈin/, /gæsˈlin/, gæˈsɵlin, or gæsɵˈlin
• Rhymes: -iːn

Alternative forms

• gasolene (archaic in America, but not in Jamaica)

Origin

From Cazeline (possibly influenced by Gazeline, the name of an Irish copy), a brand of petroleum-derived lighting oil,

The Solicitors' Journal and Reporter, volume 9, page 368, 1865

from the surname of the man who first marketed it in 1862, John Cassell,

John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off, Faber & Faber, 2012 ISBN 0571297951.

and the suffix –eline, from Greek ἔλαιον (elaion, "oil, olive oil"), from ἐλαία (elaía, "olive").

Full definition of gasoline

Noun

1. (uncountable, North America) A flammable liquid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly used as a motor fuel; petrol.
• 1991, 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, "http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp," 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) A certain kind of gasoline.The quality of automobile gasolines varies considerably from one country and producer to another.The X refinery produces a wide range of gasolines.

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

Derived terms

• gas North America

Adjective

1. Made from or using gasoline.
• 2006, w, Internal Combustion Chapter 1, 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: … .