Is "petrol" the same as "oil"?

Answer by  incantator (81)

Petrol is short for petroleum, which is the same as the crude oil that comes directly from the ground. Petrol is commonly used in various places like Great Britain to mean the same thing as gasoline. Petroleum comes from petra, which means rock, and oleum, which means oil.

Answer by  CarolynOsborne (2804)

"Petrol" is the British English word for what American English speakers call "gasoline." Petrol is related to the word petroleum, which is based on two Latin words, petra (rock), and oleum (oil). Petrol is a refined oil product.