Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Petroleum.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The cheap lamp of rock-oil gave off almost as much smoke as light, which probably didn't help the coughing any.
Fiddler Fair Lackey, Mercedes 1998
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Its presence as an oily scum on the surface of ponds and streams had long been known, and among the Indians this "rock-oil" was highly appreciated as a vehicle for mixing their wax paint, and for anointing their bodies; in later years it was gathered in
Scientific American Supplement, No. 497, July 11, 1885 Various
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My part was simply to stand by with the dark lantern in one hand, and a small bottle of rock-oil in the other.
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Raffles had produced a pretty embroidered case, intended obviously for his razors, but filled instead with the tools of his secret trade, including the rock-oil.
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That's his centre-bit, and this is the bottle of rock-oil he's supposed to have kept dipping it in to prevent making a noise.
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There was the revolver that I had only once heard fired, and there the blood-stained life-preserver, brace-and-bit, bottle of rock-oil, velvet bag, rope-ladder, walking-stick, gimlets, wedges, and even the empty cartridge-case which had once concealed the gift of a civilized monarch to a potentate of color.
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Raffles had produced a pretty embroidered case, intended obviously for his razors, but filled instead with the tools of his secret trade, including the rock-oil.
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My part was simply to stand by with the dark lantern in one hand, and a small bottle of rock-oil in the other.
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In another minute we were at work upon the study-door, I with the tiny lantern and the bottle of rock-oil, he with the brace and the largest bit.
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Hundred Fifty-nine, that neck of the woods was electrified by the news that Drake's Folly was gushing rock-oil.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 11 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Businessmen Elbert Hubbard 1885
hernesheir commented on the word rock-oil
Now known as petroleum.
November 25, 2010