petrolize, v.
(ˈpɛtrəʊlaɪz)
[f. petrol, petroleum + -ize.]
1. trans. To set on fire by means of petroleum: cf. pétroleur, pétroleuse.
| a 1876 M. Collins Th. in Garden (1880) I. 130 The communists..petrolising clubs and palaces, upsetting columns. |
2. To make like petroleum; to imbue with the character of petroleum.
| 1890 Cent. Dict. cites Ure. |
3. = oil v. 1 c. So ˈpetrolizing vbl. n.
| 1901 L. O. Howard Mosquitoes 193 To the Italians we are indebted for a useful expression, which we might just as well adopt, namely to ‘petrolize’, meaning to treat waters with kerosene. 1903 Boston Even. Transcript 28 Apr. 9/2 All the breeding places [of the mosquito] treated last year will again be petrolized this year. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 21 Apr. 16/1 Marshes are drained; ponds are petrolised or stocked with fish. 1930 I. J. Kligler Epidemiology & Control of Malaria in Palestine vii. 144 Petrolization and petrolizing mixtures.—One of the most important and useful methods of antilarval control is the oiling of the surface of breeding-places. |