gasoline

Etymology

From Cazeline (possibly influenced by Gazeline, the name of an Irish copy), a brand of petroleum-derived lighting oil, from the surname of the man who first marketed it in 1862, John Cassell, and the suffix –eline. The name Cassell is from Anglo-Norman castel (cognate of English castle), from Old French castel, from Latin castellum, diminutive of castrum. The suffix -eline is from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “oil, olive oil”), from ἐλαία (elaía, “olive”). Gasolene is found from 1863, and gasoline from 1864.

noun

1. (uncountable, Canada, US, New Zealand) A flammable liquid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly used as a motor fuel; petrol.
   […] naphtha of specific gravity exceeding eighty degrees […] and of the kind usually known as gasoline, shall be subject to a tax of five per centum ad valorem. 1864, Congress of the United States, Internal Revenue Act §94
   So you punched out a window for ventilation. Was that before or after you noticed you were standing in a lake of gasoline? 1991, Backdraft, Robert DeNiro (actor)
   Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare. October 31 2012, David M. Halbfinger, “New Jersey Continues to Cope with Hurricane Sandy”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-10-31
2. (countable) Any specific kind of gasoline.
   The refinery produces a wide range of gasolines.
3. (slang, drugs) Marijuana, especially very potent or high quality.
4. (slang) An alcoholic beverage made of vodka and energy drink.

adj

1. Made from or using gasoline.
   If successful, Edison and Ford—in 1914—would move society away from the ever more expensive and then universally known killing hazards of gasoline cars: […] . 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion