A thin colorless to straw-colored petroleum-based fuel heavier than gasoline/petrol or naptha but lighter than diesel, used primarily as jet fuel but also for heating and lighting in some remote or impoverished areas.
"After the power grid failed during the storm, the rural village lit their evening meals with kerosene lamps that burned steadily through the dark."
The word comes from the Ancient Greek kērós, meaning "wax." It was originally trademarked as a name in 1854.