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n. [ Gr. kre`as, gen. kre`ws, flesh + sw`zein to preserve. ] (Chem.) Wood-tar oil; an oily antiseptic liquid, of a burning smoky taste, colorless when pure, but usually colored yellow or brown by impurity or exposure. It is a complex mixture of various phenols and their ethers, and is obtained by the distillation of wood tar, especially that of beechwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It is remarkable as an antiseptic and deodorizer in the preservation of wood, flesh, etc., and in the prevention of putrefaction; but it is a poor germicide, and in this respect has been overrated. Smoked meat, as ham, owes its preservation and taste to a small quantity of creosote absorbed from the smoke to which it is exposed. Carbolic acid is phenol{ 1 } proper, while creosote is a mixture of several phenols. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coal-tar creosote (Chem.), a colorless or yellow, oily liquid, obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and resembling wood-tar oil, or creosote proper, in composition and properties. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Creosoted p. pr. & vb. n. Creosoting. ] To saturate or impregnate with creosote, as timber, for the prevention of decay.

. A shrub (Covillea mexicana) found in desert regions from Colorado to California and southward through Mexico. It has yellow flowers and very resinous foliage with a strong odor of creosote. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Gr. 'eswteriko`s, fr. 'esw`teros inner, interior, comp. fr. 'e`sw in, within, fr. 'es, e'is, into, fr. 'en in. See In. ] 1. Designed for, and understood by, the specially initiated alone; not communicated, or not intelligible, to the general body of followers; private; interior; acroamatic; -- said of discussions of technical topics and of the private and more recondite instructions and doctrines of philosophers. Opposed to exoteric. [ 1913 Webster ]

Enough if every age produce two or three critics of this esoteric class, with here and there a reader to understand them. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Marked by secrecy or privacy; private; select; confidential; as, an esoteric purpose; an esoteric meeting. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Philos.) (a) An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy; esoterics. (b) One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric doctrines or rites. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Esoteric. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an esoteric manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Esoteric doctrine or principles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Mysterious or hidden doctrines; secret science. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Mystery; esoterics; -- opposed to exotery. A. Tucker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Creosote. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Sweet. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. swthri`a safety (from swth`rios saving, swth`r a savior, sw`zein to save) + -logy. ] 1. A discourse on health, or the science of promoting and preserving health. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Theol.) The doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ. [ 1913 Webster ]