A flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture obtained from petroleum or coal tar, used as a solvent and in making gasoline. It can also refer to any of various volatile, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixtures.
From Arabic نَفْط (naft), meaning 'petroleum' or 'crude oil', which itself may derive from Persian. The word entered English in the 14th century via Medieval Latin 'naphtha' and Greek 'naphtha'. Arabic alchemists and scholars were instrumental in developing early petroleum chemistry, making this one of many chemical terms that entered European languages through Arabic scientific texts.
Medieval Arabic alchemists were so advanced in petroleum chemistry that many of our modern chemical terms come through Arabic, even when the original source was Persian or Greek. The word 'naphtha' traveled from ancient Mesopotamian oil fields through Persian, into Arabic scientific literature, and finally into European languages during the translation movement of the Middle Ages.
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