BITUMEN

bitumen

(noun) any of various naturally occurring impure mixtures of hydrocarbons

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

bitumen (countable and uncountable, plural bitumina or bitumens)

Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc.

Synonym: Jew's pitch

(by extension) Any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petrolea, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

(Canada) Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oil.

Synonyms

• (mineral pitch): Jew’s lime, Jew’s pitch, Jew’s slime, slime (all obsolete)

Verb

bitumen (third-person singular simple present bitumens, present participle bitumening, simple past and past participle bitumened)

To cover or fill with bitumen.

Synonym: bituminize

Source: Wiktionary

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Bi*tu"men, n. Etym: [L. bitumen: cf. F. bitume. Cf. Béton.]

1. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt.

2. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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