Benzins

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A colorless liquid hydrocarbon mixture derived from petroleum, used primarily as a fuel or solvent in engines
2. A volatile liquid with a distinctive odor, often found in gasoline formulations
3. A flammable substance commonly utilized in various industrial applications and chemical processes

Etymology: Benzins is the usual word for petrol in Latvian, and it was borrowed from German, where "Benzin" names the light fraction of crude oil. The German word is built on "Benzol," the name for benzene, which comes from benzoin, a fragrant resin. That resin's name passes through Latin "benzoe" from Arabic "lubān jāwī," roughly "frankincense of Java." The chain runs from incense to fuel. Chemists named benzene after benzoic acid, which they made from the resin, although benzene itself has no real connection to the gum. Later, the suffix "-in" was attached to mark a petroleum product, so a word that began with a perfume ingredient now names the liquid that fills car tanks.

Synonyms: gasolines, petrols, fuels, hydrocarbons, octanes