- Creosote
- Creosote Cre"o*sote (kr[=e]"[-o]*s[=o]t), n. [Gr. kre`as, gen.
kre`ws, flesh + sw`zein to preserve.] (Chem.)
Wood-tar oil; an oily antiseptic liquid, of a burning smoky
taste, colorless when pure, but usually colored yellow or
brown by impurity or exposure. It is a complex mixture of
various phenols and their ethers, and is obtained by the
distillation of wood tar, especially that of beechwood.
[1913 Webster]
Note: It is remarkable as an antiseptic and deodorizer in the preservation of wood, flesh, etc., and in the prevention of putrefaction; but it is a poor germicide, and in this respect has been overrated. Smoked meat, as ham, owes its preservation and taste to a small quantity of creosote absorbed from the smoke to which it is exposed. {Carbolic acid} is {phenol[1]} proper, while creosote is a mixture of several phenols. [1913 Webster]
{Coal-tar creosote} (Chem.), a colorless or yellow, oily liquid, obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and resembling wood-tar oil, or creosote proper, in composition and properties. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
