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Word Study
bitumen
CIDE DICTIONARY
bitumen, n. [L. bitumen: cf. F. bitume. Cf. Béton.].
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
bitumen, n.
1 any of various tarlike mixtures of hydrocarbons derived from petroleum naturally or by distillation and used for road surfacing and roofing.
2 Austral. colloq. a tarred road.
1 any of various tarlike mixtures of hydrocarbons derived from petroleum naturally or by distillation and used for road surfacing and roofing.
2 Austral. colloq. a tarred road.
Etymology
L bitumen -minis
ROGET THESAURUS
bitumen
Resin
N resin, rosin, gum, lac, sealing wax, amber, ambergris, bitumen, pitch, tar, asphalt, asphaltum, camphor, varnish, copal, mastic, magilp, lacquer, japan, artificial resin, polymer, ion-exchange resin, cation-exchange resin, anion exchange resin, water softener, Amberlite, Dowex, Diaion, resiny, resinous, bituminous, pitchy, tarry, asphaltic, asphaltite.Also see definition of "bitumen" in Bible Study Dictionaries
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