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pétrole

petroleum, crude oil

noun peh-TROL Less Common

Origin: Medieval Latin 'petroleum' (rock oil)

Also means

paraffin (UK)

Usage Note

Pétrole refers to crude oil or petroleum as a raw resource, not to petrol/gasoline at the pump — that is l'essence. The phrase lampe à pétrole is a kerosene lamp. The adjective pétrolier describes the oil industry or an oil tanker.

Examples

"Le pays exporte beaucoup de pétrole."

Natural Translation

The country exports a lot of petroleum.

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