Oil
Viscous water-insoluble liquid
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Through Liquid, Viscosity and Chemical polarity
Plant and animal oils
Diverse oils are produced by plants, animals, and other organisms. Lipid is the scientific term for the fats, steroids, and phospholipids that are soluble in organic solvents. Another large class of plant oils are tall oils, mixtures of fats and rosins that are extracted from trees and used mainly as solvent and fuel. In addition to modern animal-derived oils (e.g. tallow), whale oil was once widely used.
From the perspective of commercial applications, fats are broadly significant because they are precursors to soaps and are a component of many foods, e.g. cooking oils. Drying oils, consisting of highly unsaturated fats, are key components of some paints and lacquers.
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Petroleum-derived oils
Several sources of "petroleum-derived" oils exist including distillates from crude oil and shale oil. Major uses of these oils include fuels (e.g. heating oil) and hydraulic fluids.
Additionally, synthetic oils, mainly used as lubricants are produced by chemical processing of petrochemicals.
Petroleum-based oils originate from ancient fossilized organic materials, such as zooplankton and algae, which geochemical processes convert into oil.
Etymology and history
First usage in a form resembling the modern is in Anglo-Norman before (a)1300 in Land of Cokaygne in Middle English from Old French oile as a consequence of influence of Edward the Confessor (1042–1066) and after the killing of King Harold on 14 October 1066 after the 1066 invasion from Normandy, the earliest extant source a translation from Latin during the 12th or 13th century (Marbode Lapidaire) from Classical Latin oleum, (the earliest extant source being: Plautus, Poenulus) which in turn comes from the Greek ἔλαιον (elaion), "olive oil, oil" and that from ἐλαία (elaia), "olive tree", "olive fruit". "Olive oil" in Mycenaean Greek (transliteration) is e-rai-wo.
Oil has been used throughout history as a religious medium. It is often considered a spiritually purifying agent and is used for anointing purposes. As a particular example, holy anointing oil has been an important ritual liquid for Judaism and Christianity.