whale oil

oil rendered from whale blubber, formerly widely used as a fuel for lamps and for making soap and candles.

Origin of whale oil

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

On the 29th of April the Essex took the Montezuma, with a cargo of fourteen hundred barrels of whale-oil.

Pike & Cutlass |George Gibbs
The refinery for whale-oil, lately established at Rouen, seems to be an object worthy of national attention.

Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson |Thomas Jefferson
The most general remedy is to wash trees or plants with a strong decoction of some offensive herb, or with whale-oil soapsuds.

Soil Culture |J. H. Walden
In order to judge of its importance, the different qualities of whale-oil must be noted.

Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson |Thomas Jefferson

On the left is the "Library," with a curious collection of whale-oil chandeliers.

Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 26, August, 1880 |Various

whale oil

oil obtained either from the blubber of whales (train oil) or the head of the sperm whale (sperm oil)