cre·o·sote

[kree-uh-soht] noun, verb, cre·o·sot·ed, cre·o·sot·ing.
noun
1.
an oily liquid having a burning taste and a penetrating odor, obtained by the distillation of coal and wood tar, used mainly as a preservative for wood and as an antiseptic.
2.
coal-tar creosote.
verb (used with object)
3.
to treat with creosote.
Origin:
< German Kreosote (1832) < Greek kreo-, combining form of kréas flesh + sōtēr savior, preserver (in reference to its antiseptic properties)

Related forms
cre·o·sot·ic [kree-uh-sot-ik] , adjective
un·cre·o·sot·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Creosote is one of our favorite verbs.
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to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
creosote (ˈkrɪəˌsəʊt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a colourless or pale yellow liquid mixture with a burning taste and penetrating odour distilled from wood tar, esp from beechwood, contains creosol and other phenols, and is used as an antiseptic
2.  Also called: coal-tar creosote a thick dark liquid mixture prepared from coal tar, containing phenols: used as a preservative for wood
 
—vb
3.  to treat (wood) with creosote
 
[C19: from Greek kreas flesh + sōtēr preserver, from sōzein to keep safe]
 
creosotic
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

creosote
1835, from Ger. kreosot, coined 1832 by its discoverer, German-born natural philosopher Carl Ludwig, Baron Reichenbach (17881869) from Gk. kreo-, comb. form of kreas "flesh" + soter "preserver," from soizein "save, preserve." So called because it was used as an antiseptic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
creosote   (krē'ə-sōt')  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A yellow or brown oily liquid obtained from coal tar and used as a wood preservative and disinfectant.

  2. A colorless to yellowish oily liquid containing phenols, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood tar, especially from the wood of a beech, and formerly used as an expectorant in treating chronic bronchitis.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
The sharp smell of creosote bush comes from natural oils and wax which coat its
  leaves to seal in water.
Creosote is the name used for a variety of products that are mixtures of many
  chemicals.
Creosote and juniper sweeten the aroma of desert rainfall.
The site is an inactive or abandoned wood treating facility that used creosote
  in its treatment process.
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