petroleum
puh-TROH-lee-uhm · noun
LatinEnglish
Origin
English borrowed "petroleum" directly from Medieval Latin petroleum, as a learned borrowing rather than through everyday speech.
Journey
The facts available don't describe a shift in meaning — the word seems to have carried its sense over intact from Medieval Latin into English usage.
Related words
"Petroleum" is a doublet of "petrol" — the two words trace back to the same source but took separate paths into English.
More words
Nearby, A–Z