asphalt

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See also: Asphalt

English[edit]

asphalt concrete (2) for road surfacing

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Late Latin asphaltum, from Ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος (ásphaltos, asphalt, bitumen).[1] Displaced native Old English eorþteoru.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈæʃfɑlt/, /ˈæsfɑlt/
  • (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈæʃfɔlt/, /ˈæsfɔlt/, /ˈæʃfɛlt/
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈæsfælt/, /ˈæsfəlt/, /ˈæsfɔːlt/, /ˈæʃfælt/, /ˈæʃfəlt/, /ˈæʃfɔːlt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈæsfɔlt/, /ˈæʃfɔlt/
    • (file)

Noun[edit]

asphalt (countable and uncountable, plural asphalts)

  1. A sticky, black to brown and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid, composed almost entirely of bitumen with small mineral particles, that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits.
    Synonym: bitumen
    • 1914, Thomas Hugh Boorman, Asphalts, their sources and utilizations, →OCLC, page 9:
      Felltham wrote in the beginning of the 17th century of the “Bitumated walls of Babylon;” the source of its supply, the fountains of Is, on a tributary of the Euphrates, still yields asphalt.
  2. Ellipsis of asphalt concrete, a hard ground covering used for roads and walkways.
    Synonyms: tarmac, bitumen
    • 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 214:
      Between the grey mist of rainclouds the sun suddenly appeared to mottle the wet asphalt of Marble Arch in patches of silver and ebony.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb[edit]

asphalt (third-person singular simple present asphalts, present participle asphalting, simple past and past participle asphalted)

  1. (transitive) To pave with asphalt.

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “asphalt”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]