asphaltite

[as-fawl-tahyt, as-fawl-tahyt, as-fal-, as-fal-]

noun

1. a natural, solid hydrocarbon having a melting point higher than that of asphalt.

asphaltite

/ æsˈfæltaɪt /

noun

1. any of various naturally occurring hydrocarbons that resemble asphalt but have a higher melting point

Word History and Origins

Origin of asphaltite¹

From the Greek word asphaltī́tēs, dating back to 1815–25. See asphalt, -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Although the exact molecular compounds in the organics could not be identified, they matched tar-like minerals, such as kerite or asphaltite, the scientists wrote.

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As it was upon the morrow of the catastrophe itself, so it has remained with its calcined rocks, its blocks of salt, its masses of black lava, its rough ravines, its sulphurous springs, its boiling waters, its bituminous marshes, its riven mountains, and its vast Lake Asphaltite, which is the Dead Sea.

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Adj. resiny†, resinous; bituminous, pitchy, tarry; asphaltic, asphaltite.

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