Editing Petroleum (section)

== Etymology ==
[[File:Fractional distillation apparatus.jpg|thumb|A fractional distillation apparatus]]
The word ''petroleum'' comes from Medieval Latin {{wikt-lang|la|petroleum}} (literally 'rock oil'), which comes from Latin [[wikt:petra#Latin|petra]] 'rock' (from Greek {{transliteration|grc|pétra}} {{wikt-lang|grc|πέτρα}}) and [[wikt:oleum#Latin|oleum]] 'oil' (from Greek {{transliteration|grc|élaion}} {{wikt-lang|grc|ἔλαιον}}).<ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=petroleum "petroleum"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516164428/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=petroleum |date=May 16, 2020 }}, in the American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref>''[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/petroleum Petroleum]'', Medieval Latin: literally, rock oil = Latin petr(a) rock (< Greek pétra) + oleum oil, The Free Dictionary.com.  {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110024856/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/petroleum|date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>

The origin of the term stems from monasteries in southern Italy where it was in use by the end of the first millennium as an alternative for the older term "[[naphtha]]".<ref name="van Dijk_2022, n">van Dijk, J.P. (2022); Unravelling the Maze of Scientific Writing Through the Ages: On the Origins of the Terms Hydrocarbon, Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Methane. Amazon Publishers, 166 pp. PaperBack Edition B0BKRZRKHW.  {{ISBN|979-8-3539-8917-2|invalid1=yes}}</ref> After that, the term was used in numerous manuscripts and books, such as in the treatise ''[[De Natura Fossilium]]'', published in 1546 by the German mineralogist [[Georg Bauer]], also known as Georgius Agricola.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Georg Bauer |author=Bauer, Georg |date=1955 |translator=Bandy, Mark Chance |translator2=Bandy, Jean A. |title=De Natura Fossilium |location=Mineola, NY |publisher=Dover |orig-date=1546}}</ref> After the advent of the oil industry, during the second half of the 19th century, the term became commonly known for the liquid form of hydrocarbons.