asphaltum

[as-fawl-tuhm, -fal-]

noun

1. asphalt.

Word History and Origins

Origin of asphaltum¹

< New Latin < Greek ásphalton asphalt

Example Sentences

Prosecutors allege the company discharged excavated material into waterways in different watersheds, including Nojoqui Creek, Arroyo Quemado and Asphaltum Creek.

From Los Angeles Times

The state’s first wharves were built in the 1800s, and tended to be modest, private endeavors meant to facilitate shipping minerals and metals such as silver and asphaltum up and down the coast.

From Los Angeles Times

Probably L.A.’s earliest wharf, Santa Monica’s Shoo-Fly Landing, was built in 1871 so that Henry Hancock could send ox-drawn wagons of asphaltum, “brea,” from his tar-rich inland rancho out to the coast, to load aboard northbound ships to pave San Francisco’s streets.

From Los Angeles Times

A great deal of preparation goes into its assembly: the would-be Mystic must have “pure and lofty aspirations and desires,” plus a 6.5” x 8.5” concave glass, a brush, a pint of turpentine, and a tube of asphaltum.

From Slate

After cleaning the glass with turpentine and applying a coat of asphaltum to one side, the mirror is magnetized by moving one’s palms in circular motions above it for several minutes.

From Slate