what is paraffin oil
1.1 (also paraffin oil or liquid paraffin) A colourless, flammable, oily liquid similarly obtained and used as fuel, especially kerosene. Example sentences. 1  Many rural people, and those living in a semi-urban situation, had to find their fuel from coal, paraffin, and especially timber. Because kerosene belongs to the family of hydrocarbons called alkanes or paraffins, it is sometimes referred to as paraffin oil, in addition to the nicknames coal oil, lamp oil, and illuminating oil.