oil
oil General term to describe a variety of substances whose chief shared properties are viscosity at ordinary temperatures, a density less than that of water, inflammability, insolubility in water, and solubility in ether and alcohol. Mineral oils, most notably crude oil or petroleum oil, are used as fuels. Animal and vegetable oils (fatty oils or fats) are used as food, lubricants and as a major ingredient of soap. In addition, there are essential oils from plants that, unlike fatty oils, are volatile. Fatty oils can be classified into two groups: drying, such as linseed and poppyseed oil, and non-drying, such as olive and castor oil.
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