Bitumen

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bitumen \Bi*tu"men\, n. [L. bitumen: cf. F. bitume. Cf.
     {B['e]ton}.]
     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}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bitumen
       n : any of various naturally occurring impure mixtures of
           hydrocarbons

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Bitumen
     Gen. 11:3, R.V., margin, rendered in the A.V. "slime"), a
     mineral pitch. With this the ark was pitched (6:14. See also Ex.
     2:3.) (See {SLIME}.)