vaseline

V4A1S1E1L1I1N1E1
UK/ˈvæ.sə.liːn/US/ˈvæ.sə.lin/

noun

Petroleum jelly.

“Even at this late date, vaselining will preserve the best of these leathers.”

Similar
E905b
OriginAncient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion) ← Proto-Hellenic *élaiwon ← German Wasser →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

vaseline1

nounvaseline (countable and uncountable, plural vaselines)

plural vaselines · alternative Vaseline

  1. countableuncountablePetroleum jelly.

    Hearts of putty, hearts of vaseline...

    1930, Aldous Huxley, Brief Candles

    Synonyms: E905b

  2. countableuncountableAny particular kind of petroleum jelly or of any similar lubricant.

    A Russian vaseline has been lately added to the many kinds of vaseline found in […]

    1882, Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry
  3. abbreviationcountableellipsisinformaluncountableEllipsis of Vaseline glass, or the coloring used in making it.
verbvaseline (third-person singular simple present vaselines, present participle vaselining, simple past and past participle vaselined)

present singular third person vaselines · participle present vaselining · participle past vaselined · past vaselined · alternative Vaseline

  1. transitiveTo lubricate with vaseline.

    Even at this late date, vaselining will preserve the best of these leathers.

Vaseline2

noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of vaseline.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounPetroleum jelly.

Similar
E905b
Also see
petroleum jelly

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  3. Proto-Germanic*watōr
  4. Proto-West Germanic*watar
  5. Old High Germanwaȥȥar
  6. Middle High Germanwaȥȥer
  7. GermanWasser
  8. Proto-Hellenic*élaiwon
  9. Ancient Greekἔλαιον (élaion)
  10. Englishvaseline

From German Wasser (“water”) + Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “oil”) + -ine. Genericized trademark of the Vaseline brand of petroleum jelly introduced by American chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough in 1872.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ڤازلين, فازلين
  • ڤازلين (vazlīn)petroleum jelly
  • فازلين (fazlīn)petroleum jelly
Chinese Mandarin 凡士林
  • 凡士林 (fánshìlín)petroleum jelly
Czech vazelína
  • vazelínapetroleum jelly
Dutch vaseline
  • vaselinepetroleum jelly
Esperanto vazelino
  • vazelinopetroleum jelly
Finnish vaseliini, voidella vaseliinilla
  • vaseliinipetroleum jelly
  • voidella vaseliinillato lubricate with vaseline
French vaseline
  • vaselinepetroleum jelly
German Vaseline, Vaselin
  • Vaselinepetroleum jelly
  • Vaselinpetroleum jelly
Greek βαζελίνη
  • βαζελίνη (vazelíni)petroleum jelly
Indonesian vaselin
  • vaselinpetroleum jelly
Irish veasailín
  • veasailínpetroleum jelly
Italian petrolato, vasellina
  • petrolatopetroleum jelly
  • vasellinapetroleum jelly
Japanese ワセリン
  • ワセリン (waserin)petroleum jelly
Persian وازلین
  • وازلین (vâzelin)petroleum jelly
Polish wazelina
  • wazelinapetroleum jelly
Romanian vaselină
  • vaselinăpetroleum jelly
Russian вазели́н
  • вазели́н (vazelín)petroleum jelly
Spanish vaselina
  • vaselinapetroleum jelly
Swedish vaselin
  • vaselinpetroleum jelly
Tagalog baselina
  • baselinapetroleum jelly
Thai วาสลีน
  • วาสลีน (wáat-sà-liin)petroleum jelly
Turkish vazelin
  • vazelinpetroleum jelly
Ukrainian вазелі́н
  • вазелі́н (vazelín)petroleum jelly
Cite this entry
APA

vaseline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vaseline

MLA

“vaseline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vaseline. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vaseline,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vaseline.

Source: vaseline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.