creosote

Word origin

From German Kreosot in the 1830s, coined in 1832 by German natural philosopher Carl Ludwig, Baron Reichenbach, from Ancient Greek κρέας (kréas, “flesh”) + σωτήρ (sōtḗr, “preserver”) for its use as an antiseptic and meat-preservative. The creosote bush was named after its scent. By surface analysis, containing creo-.

Used in a sentence

• “On Shaw Butte, as elsewhere in the Phoenix area, creosotes are abundant, producing a plethora of small yellow flowers in late March and April.”

• “"King Clone," a creosote plant (Larrea tridentata) found in southwest California, was estimated in February 1980 by Prof. Frank C. Vasek to be 11,700 years old.”

• “As the fence is exposed he will creosote it for protection.”

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0