Vaseline (n.)

1872年，Chesebrough 制造公司推出了一种由石油制成的药膏，并注册了商标“Vaseline”。这个词由德语 Wasser “水”和希腊语 elaion “油”组成，再加上科学术语后缀 -ine。罗伯特·A·切斯布罗认为石油是地下水分解的产物。

The name is of mixed origin, being derived from Wasser, water, and elaion [Greek in the original], oil (water-oil), and indicates the belief of the discoverer that petroleum, the mother of Vaseline, is produced by the agency of heat and pressure from the carbon of certain rocks, and the hydrogen of water. [The Monthly Review of Dental Surgery, February 1877]

这个名字是由 Wasser “水”和 elaion “油”（水-油）组成的混合词，表明发现者相信石油（凡士林的母体）是由某些岩石的碳和水的氢在热和压力的作用下产生的。[《牙科外科月刊》，1877年2月]