Parrafin is the name for a large class of hydrocarbons, ranging everywhere from mineral oil to solid parrafin wax. Parrafin wax is used, amongst other things, in candles.
So is parrafin oil the same thing as mineral oil?
Apparently not. I asked the O.E.D.
Paraffin, n
In full paraffin oil. An oily, flammable liquid mixture of hydrocarbons similarly obtained by distillation and used as fuel; esp. = KEROSENE n. Also: (a) paraffin (sense 1) in liquid form; (b) liquid paraffin.
liquid paraffin: see LIQUID adj. and n. Compounds 1.
Sense 1 is:
A whitish, translucent, waxy, flammable solid consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons, obtained as a residue from the distillation of petroleum and shale and used esp. in candles, cosmetics, and polishes, and for coating and sealing.
