Wiktionary
n. Any of various oils and fats extracted from the blubber of whales and used in the manufacture of soap and lubricants (formerly as an illuminating oil).
WordNet
n. a white to brown oil obtained from whale blubber; formerly used as an illuminant [syn: train oil]
Wikipedia
Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word traan ("tear" or "drop").
Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the head cavities of sperm whales, differs chemically from ordinary whale oil: it comprises mostly liquid wax. Its properties and applications differ from those of regular whale oil, and it sold at a higher cost when marketed.
Early industrial societies used whale oil widely in oil lamps and to make soap and margarine. With the commercial development of substitutes such as kerosene and vegetable oils, the use of whale oils declined considerably in the 20th century. With most countries having banned whaling, the sale and use of whale oil has practically ceased.
Usage examples of "whale oil".
When the Aurora left Nantucket, the price of whale oil was at an all-time high.
Even back in the Revolutionary War there had been famine here when the British blockaded the island, and they'd already been trading whale oil and fish for grain.
Meanwhile, the Southern Cross, which had already refuelled from the tanker, completed the transfer of whale oil to this ship.
And every rope he touched felt slimy and slippery, from the whale oil that Doc had been talking about, he guessed.
My great-great-grandfather was one of the whaling Macyssometimes I think my career is penance for what he didand he saw the collapse coming in whale oil and put all his money in petroleum.
On the top level, giant kabuzu shell cressets, fifteen meters tall, burned whale oil.
The whale oil produced a return of our complaints, and having no other resource, we were forced by imperious hunger to make our repasts from one of the bodies of our dead shipmates.