A dark brown oily liquid disinfectant made from coal tar, once widely used to clean and sanitize surfaces and kill germs.
From 'creosote' (a coal tar product) plus the chemical suffix '-in.' It was synthesized in the 19th century and named for its origin material.
Creolin was the 19th-century equivalent of bleach—hospitals and homes relied on its intense smell as proof it was 'working,' not knowing gentler disinfectants would eventually be safer and more effective!
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