Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lamp oil

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English

Syllables: lam-p oil
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any clean-burning oil used as fuel in an oil lamp.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: (often synonymous) kerosene"
"He was much pleased at the prospect of the oil he would get from him, turned the heavy creature from one side to the other, fondled him like a baby, and assured me he was a "stunning fat sea-cub," which should be welcomed at home for boot-grease and lamp-oil."

Etymology

From Middle English lamp oyl, lampehoyle, lamp oyle, lampe oyl, lampe oyle, equivalent to lamp + oil. Compare West Frisian lampoalje (“lamp-oil”), Dutch lampolie (“lamp-oil”), German Lampenöl (“lamp-oil”), Danish lampeolie (“lamp-oil”), Swedish lampolja (“lamp-oil”), Icelandic lampaolía (“lamp-oil”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: lamp oyl

Usage

Inflected Forms

lamp oils (plural) lamp-oil (alternative) lampoil (alternative)

Phrases

light oil

Frequently Paired Words

lamplight lamplighter lampwick light oil

Synonyms

kerosene kerosine coal oil

Questions

What does lamp oil mean?: Any clean-burning oil used as fuel in an oil lamp.
Where does lamp oil come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce lamp oil

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lamp oil”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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