vaseline

A marketing coinage by Robert A. Chesebrough around 1870, reputedly from German Wasser (“water”) + Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “oil”).

vaseline (countable and uncountable, plural vaselines)

1. Petroleum jelly.
   • 1930, Aldous Huxley, Brief Candles:

     Hearts of putty, hearts of vaseline...

2. Any particular kind of petroleum jelly or of any similar lubricant.
   • 1882, Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry:

     A Russian vaseline has been lately added to the many kinds of vaseline found in […]

3. A greenish-yellow coloured glass, or the colouring used in the manufacture of this glass.

• E905b when used as a food additive

vaseline (third-person singular simple present vaselines, present participle vaselining, simple past and past participle vaselined)

1. To lubricate with vaseline.

   Even at this late date, vaselining will preserve the best of these leathers.

• leave-ins

vaseline f (uncountable)

1. vaseline

• IPA^(key): /vaz.lin/

Borrowed from English. Genericized trademark.

• “vaseline” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).