Link Centre Dictionary

creosote

creo·sote

UK/ˈkɹiːəˌsəʊt/ US/ˈkɹiəˌsoʊt/ uncommon

noun

1.

a colorless or yellowish oily liquid obtained by distillation of wood tar; used as an antiseptic

2.

a dark oily liquid obtained by distillation of coal tar; used as a preservative for wood

verb

1.

treat with creosote

  • “creosoted wood”

Origin

From German Kreosot in the 1830s, coined in 1832 by German natural philosopher Carl Ludwig, Baron Reichenbach, from Ancient Greek κρέας (kréas, “flesh”) + σωτήρ (sōtḗr, “preserver”) for its use as an antiseptic and meat-preservative. The creosote bush was named after its scent. By surface analysis, containing creo-.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.