petroleum

Pronunciation: /pəˈtɹoʊliəm/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin petroleum. Doublet of petrol.

In classic literature

Synonyms

crude oil, crude, rock oil, fossil oil, oil

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
fossil fuel, oil
Narrower (hyponyms)
residual oil

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