petroleum

Forms

petroleum n (genitive petroleī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin petra (“rock”) + oleum (“oil”), “rock oil”, in Medieval Latin.^[2][3] Wiktionary calls it a blend of petra and oleum.^[1] Petra is borrowed from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétrā, “rock”), and oleum goes back to ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record in the DMLBS is from 1198, an account entry that prices an ounce of it at twelve shillings: pro j uncia de petroleo xij sol.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Medieval writers used it for the mineral oil that seeps out of rocks;^[2] one manuscript glosses it as “oil of stone” in English.^[2] Spellings such as petroleon, petrolium and petreleum occur.^[2][4] It is also recorded in a 15th-century Polish source.^[5]

The word passed into Anglo-French in the mid-14th century and into English in the early 15th,^[3] and Portuguese also borrowed it.^[1] It remained the New Latin term.^[1]

Timeline

• 1198 – An account entry prices an ounce of petroleum at twelve shillings.^[2]
• mid-14th century – The word appears in Anglo-French.^[3]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as petroleum.^[3]
• 15th century – A Polish source records it.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, New Latin) Petroleum, the mineral oil that issues from rocks.^[2][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl