bitumen

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English bithumen, bitumen, from Latin bitūmen. Doublet of bitume. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/, /ˈbɪt͡ʃ.ʊ.mɪn/ (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbɪt͡ʃ.ʊ.mɪn/, /ˈbɪt.jʊ.mɪn/ (US) IPA(key): /bɪˈtumən/, /bɪˈtjumən/, /baɪˈtumən/ === Noun === bitumen (countable and uncountable, plural bitumina or bitumens) A sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum, 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.; Mineral pitch. 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. (Australia, colloquial) Roads sealed with bitumen, as opposed to dirt roads. (Canada) Canadian deposits of extremely heavy crude oil. ==== Synonyms ==== (mineral pitch): bitume (obsolete), Jew’s lime, Jew’s pitch, Jew’s slime, slime (all obsolete) ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === 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 (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) === See also === asphalt === References === “bitumen”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. == Dutch == === Etymology === From Middle Dutch bitume, from Latin bitūmen, which later influenced the spelling. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌbiˈty.mə(n)/ Hyphenation: bi‧tu‧men === Noun === bitumen n (plural bitumina, no diminutive) bitumen, mineral pitch Synonyms: aardhars, aardpek, bergteer, jodenlijm ==== Related terms ==== beton === Further reading === “bitumen” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language] == Indonesian == === Etymology === From Dutch bitumen, from Middle Dutch bitume, from Latin bitūmen. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [biˈtumɛn] Hyphenation: bi‧tu‧mèn Rhymes: -men, -en, -n === Noun === bitumèn (plural bitumen-bitumen) bitumen ==== Alternative forms ==== bitumén (Standard Malay) === Further reading === “bitumen”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016 == Latin == === Etymology === From *bitū +‎ -men, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷétu (“resin, gum”), borrowed from an Osco-Umbrian language, though there exists the possibility of a Celtic borrowing (compare Latin betulla, which is a Celtic borrowing from the same ultimate origin), where the shift of *gʷ > *b is regular. The raising of the first vowel might come from the Osco-Umbrian variety, or have been developed in Latin, as occasionally happens after labials; compare firmus, vitulus. Cognate with Scottish Gaelic bìth (“resin, gum”), English cud, Sanskrit जतु (jatu, “lac, gum”). === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [bɪˈtuː.mɛn] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [biˈtuː.men] === Noun === bitūmen n (genitive bitūminis); third declension mineral pitch, bitumen ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem). ==== Related terms ==== bitūmineus bitūminō bitūminōsus ==== Descendants ==== Reflexes of an assumed variant *bittūmen: Borrowings: === References === === Further reading === Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1984), “betún”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎[4] (in Spanish), volume I (A–Ca), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 578 Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “bitūmen”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 1: A–B, page 386 “bitumen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “bitumen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “bitumen”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. “bitumen”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers == Polish == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin bitūmen. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /biˈtu.mɛn/ Rhymes: -umɛn Syllabification: bi‧tu‧men === Noun === bitumen m inan bitumen, blacktop Synonyms: bitum, bitumin ==== Declension ==== ==== Related terms ==== === Further reading === bitumen in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN bitumen in Polish dictionaries at PWN == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from German Bitumen, from Latin bitumen. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /biˈtu.men/, /bi.tuˈmen/ === Noun === bitumen n (uncountable) bitumen ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “bitumen”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026 == Spanish == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin bitūmen. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /biˈtumen/ [biˈt̪u.mẽn] Rhymes: -umen Syllabification: bi‧tu‧men === Noun === bitumen m (plural bitúmenes) bitumen Synonym: betún === Further reading === “bitumen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 == Swedish == === Noun === bitumen n bitumen ==== Declension ==== ==== See also ==== asfalt petroleum === References === bitumen in Svensk ordbok (SO) bitumen in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL) bitumen in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)