Paraffin

Paraffin (from the Latin parum, insufficient + affinis, affinity) can refer to

• in general, alkanes and cycloalkanes (obsolete)
• in the petrochemical industry, acyclic saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes), in contrast to naphthenes (cycloalkanes)
• in the United Kingdom and Australia, a grade of kerosene used for domestic heating
• paraffin oil, an unreactive mineral oil composed of C₁₄–C₁₈ alkanes
• paraffin wax, a soft, unreactive wax composed of C₂₀–C₄₀ alkanes