Fossil fuels—combustible materials like coal, oil, and natural gas—power much of the modern world. These are hydrocarbon compounds formed from ancient organic matter subjected to immense heat and pressure within the Earth’s crust over millions of years. The term itself is an artifact of geological history and early scientific classification, offering a precise, historical answer about its coinage. Understanding the origin of the name requires a look back at the 18th-century scientific literature where the phrase first appeared.
The Definitive Originator and Source
The first recorded use of the specific term “fossil fuel” is generally credited to the German chemist Caspar Neumann. The phrase appears in the index of an English translation of his collected works, published posthumously in 1759. Neumann was a distinguished apothecary and professor of chemistry whose work was considered authoritative in the mid-18th century.
The full title of the work is The Chemical Works of Caspar Neumann, Abridged and Methodized, with Large Additions, translated and edited by British physician William Lewis. The term “fossil fuel” does not appear in the original German text, but rather in Lewis’s additions and systematic indexing of Neumann’s observations. The inclusion of the phrase in this widely distributed English volume cemented its place in scientific nomenclature.
The 1759 publication pre-dates many later, incorrect claims about the term’s origin, such as the persistent myth that it was coined by an American oil magnate in the late 19th century. This early use demonstrates an attempt to group coal and other earth-derived combustibles under a single, descriptive geological heading.
The Term’s Original Geological Context
The application of the word “fossil” to fuels like coal and oil does not align with the modern understanding of the term, which refers exclusively to the petrified remains or traces of ancient life. The etymological root of “fossil” comes from the Latin word fossilis, meaning “having been dug up” or “obtained by digging.” This definition was the standard in the 17th and 18th centuries, applying to anything excavated from the earth, including minerals, crystals, and rocks.
The adjective “fossil” simply denoted an origin deep within the Earth’s strata, distinguishing it from substances found on the surface. Therefore, when Neumann’s translator used “fossil fuel,” it was a straightforward descriptor for any combustible material that had been mined or dug from the ground, such as coal.
The coining of the term “fossil fuel” occurred decades before the scientific community fully grasped the organic origin of petroleum and coal. While some theories in the 18th century suggested an organic basis, the definitive understanding of hydrocarbons forming from compressed biomass over geological time was not yet universal.
Pre-Systematic Nomenclature
Before the adoption of the unified “fossil fuel” term, combustible resources were described using descriptive, regional, or common names. Coal, for example, was often referred to as “sea coal” in Britain, derived from the fact that it was sometimes washed ashore, or “pit coal” when it was mined.
Petroleum, or crude oil, was historically known by terms derived from its appearance or source, such as “rock oil” or petra oleum in Latin, meaning “oil from rock.” This liquid was also referred to as bitumen or naphtha. Natural gas often lacked a formal commercial name until much later, although its presence was noted in England as early as 1659. The lack of a consistent, scientific nomenclature for these disparate, yet chemically related, substances highlighted the need for a systematic classification, which the term “fossil fuel” provided.