▪ I. petro-1
(pɛtrəʊ)
properly combining form of Gr. πέτρος stone or πέτρα rock, as in petroglyph, -graph, etc. In Anat. used to form adjectives descriptive of parts connected with the petrous portion of the temporal bone and some other part indicated by the second element (most of which may also be used ellipt. as substantives): as petroˈhyoid, petroˈmastoid, petro-ocˈcipital (petroccipital), petrophaˈryngeal, petroˈsphenoid, -spheˈnoidal, petro-squaˈmosal, -ˈsquamous, petrotymˈpanic.
| 1875 Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. (1877) 243 The hyoid bone..from it a slip of muscle (*petrohyoid) will be seen passing up towards the occipital region of the skull. |
| 1848 Owen Archetype & Homol. Vertebr. Skel. 29 The coalescence of the primitively distinct mastoid with the ossifying capsule of the labyrinth is very speedy,..and a composite ‘*petromastoid’ bone is thus formed. Ibid. 31 In the walrus..the mastoid, or petromastoid, forms as large a proportion of the outer lateral walls of the cranium as does the squamosal. |
| 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 85 The first part of this line is named the *Petro-occipital suture. |
| 1893 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Petro-sphenoid ligament... Petro-sphenoidal suture. |
| 1842 Dunglison Med. Lex., *Petro-sphenoidal. |
| 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 507 There was a small opening into the skull along the *petro-squamosal suture. |
| 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 240 A line of fracture..extended from left *petro-squamous junction backwards along the parieto-occipital suture as far as the sagittal suture. |
| 1854 Owen Skel. & Teeth in Circ. Sc., Org. Nat. I. 238 [In the giraffe] the *petrotympanic is a separate bone, as in all ruminants. 1877 Burnett Ear 42 The petrotympanic fissure. |
▪ II. petro-2 (
ˈpɛtrəʊ)
combining form of
petroleum, in recent formations as
petro-politics,
petro-power,
petro-resources,
petro-wealth;
freq. with ref. to revenue,
esp. foreign exchange, deriving from petroleum exports, as
petro-billion,
petro-naira,
petro-pound;
petro-currency, the currency of a petroleum-exporting country, of which the exchange rate varies chiefly with the fluctuations of the petroleum market. Also
petrodollar.
Cf. petro-chemistry 2.
| 1973 Time 3 Dec. 44/1 The energy crisis..may have been artificially imposed, but its implications stretch far beyond petropolitics. 1974 Time (U.S. ed.) 17 June 83 (heading) The petrocurrency peril. 1974 Newsweek 7 Oct. 52/3 Top Arab leaders have now decided not to put their petro⁓billions into U.S. Treasury bonds..but to invest in American industry instead. 1975 Economist 8 Mar. 86/3 Some members [of OPEC]..want their own petro-currencies put into the basket of IMF special drawing rights. 1975 Publishers Weekly 19 May 99/1, I understand they're rolling in petropounds since oil was discovered in the North Sea. 1976 Ibid. 5 Jan. 60/1 An Arab emirate saturated with petro-resources. 1976 Daily Times (Lagos) 5 May 7/1 As the tenth largest oil producer in the league, Nigeria has every reason to tout her petro-wealth. 1976 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 20 June 35/1 ‘There are two kinds of power,’ he said, ‘petropower and agripower.’ 1976 Daily Times (Lagos) 20 July 7/1 Nigeria's foreign exchange reserve zoomed to N2,047 million through oil boom, thus projecting an over-sized petro-naira bubble which beclouded the vision of some former military rulers. 1977 Time 11 July 36/3 The Saudis can be expected to wield their petropower prudently. 1979 Daily Tel. 5 July 21 Industrialists are ill-prepared for Britain's ‘petro-currency’ era. 1986 Tablet 19 Apr. 405/1 As a petrocurrency of a country with a Conservative government, it [sc. sterling] was probably bound to strengthen when oil prices soared. |