See Also: naphtha(medicine)
naphtha(dictionary)
coal tar naphtha(medicine)
wood naphtha(medicine)

naphtha (iou)



naphtha noun. LME.
[Latin from Greek (also naphthos), of oriental origin.]
Orig., liquid petroleum, esp. as occurring naturally. Now, any of various mixtures of volatile flammable liquid distillation products used esp. as solvents and in petrol, derived (a) from petroleum, including aliphatic and alicyclic hydrocarbons with boiling points below 200C, (b) from coal tar, including toluene, xylene, and other aromatic benzene derivatives. Freq. attrib. and with specifying words.
? Rare before L16.
naphthacene noun [ANTHRACENE] Chemistry an aromatic hydrocarbon, C18H12, whose molecule consists of four fused benzene rings and is the skeleton of the tetracyclines M20.
naphthous adjective of the nature of naphtha L19.