Gasohols

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A blend of gasoline and alcohol used as fuel for internal combustion engines ; a renewable fuel source combining hydrocarbons and ethanol or methanol to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels ; a mixture containing a specified proportion of alcohol diluted with gasoline to power motor vehicles
2. A fuel composition integrating alcohol with gasoline to enable combustion in engines ; an alternative motor fuel combining alcohol-based substances and petroleum gasoline to improve efficiency and lower pollutants ; a liquid fuel that mixes ethanol or methanol with conventional gasoline to augment performance and sustainability
3. A chemical concoction of petrol and alcohol intended for vehicle engines ; a type of fuel designed by mixing alcohol with gasoline to promote cleaner energy use and renewable resources ; a hybrid fuel created by adding an alcohol compound to gasoline to assist in combustion and reduce environmental impact

Etymology: "Gasohol" is a blend of "gasoline" and "alcohol," and the blend has a neat trail behind it: the "gas" half comes from "chaos," the "ol" half from Latin "oleum," meaning oil. Here the two stories meet in one word. "Gasoline" itself was built from "gas" with the suffix "-ine" (from Latin "-inus"), and "alcohol" is a word that travelled a long way: it began as Arabic "kuḥl," a fine powder such as kohl used as eye cosmetic, passed through Medieval Latin, and only later came to mean the spirit distilled from wine. "Gasohols" is simply the plural of "gasohol," which refers to motor fuel made by mixing gasoline with alcohol. The blend was made deliberately, as the most straightforward reading of its parts suggests: "gasoline" plus "alcohol," squeezed into one new term for a new kind of fuel.

Synonyms: gasoline-alcohol blends, fuel blends