Meaning

noun a colorless or yellowish oily liquid obtained by distillation of wood tar; used as an antiseptic

noun a dark oily liquid obtained by distillation of coal tar; used as a preservative for wood

verb treat with creosote

originFrom German Kreosot in the 1830s, coined in 1832 by German natural philosopher Carl Ludwig, Baron Reichenbach, from Ancient Greek κρέας (kréas, “flesh”) + σωτήρ (sōtḗr, “preserver”) for its use as an antiseptic and meat-preservative. The creosote bush was named after its scent. By surface analysis, containing creo-.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0