Asphalted

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A type of ground that has been finished with a black, sticky material derived from crude oil, often utilized for streets and highways
2. An area characterized by the application of a dark, thick mixture of stone and tar, frequently found in urban infrastructure
3. A surface that has been covered with a dark, cohesive substance made from bitumen, usually used to create durable roads and paths

Etymology: The surprising thing about "asphalted" is that its root once named a material the English language had its own word for. Old English speakers called tar-like earth "eorþtyrewa," literally "earth-tar," but that native term was eventually displaced by "asphalt," borrowed from Late Latin "asphaltum," which came from the Ancient Greek "ásphaltos," meaning asphalt or bitumen. This is a straightforward case of a noun turned into a verb and then into a past form. "Asphalted" describes a surface that has been coated with that dark, sticky material, so the sense stays close to the original substance. The Greek word was also the name of the bitumen found around the Dead Sea, a detail that explains why the substance had such a long-standing name in classical writing.

Synonyms: paved