Bitumen

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈbɪtjumÉ›n/
• US IPA: /bɪˈtumÉ™n/

Origin

From Latin bitūmen, from Gaulish

bitumen ex ea Galli excoquunt; Pliny, 16, 75.

*bitu (compare Scottish Gaelic bìth ‘resin, gum’) and -ūmen from Latin ferūmen ‘cement, glue’.

Full definition of bitumen

Noun

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, et cetera.
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 petrolea, and even the light, volatile naphthas.
3. (Canadian English) Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oilhttp://www.energy.gov.ab.ca/OilSands/793.asp

Synonyms

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

Related terms

• bituminous
• bitumoid
• crude bitumen
• refined bitumen