Asphalters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. People whose job is to spread and lay down asphalt to make roads, car parks and other paved surfaces
2. Workers who apply hot asphalt mixture to roadways and pavements during construction or repair
3. Tradespeople who put down the bituminous paving material that forms the surface of roads and paths

Etymology: "Asphalters" is simply the plural of "asphalter", a worker who lays asphalt. The word is built from "asphalt" with the agent suffix "-er", the same ending found in "baker" or "plumber". Asphalt itself came into English from Late Latin "asphaltum", borrowed from Greek "ásphaltos", the name of the sticky black substance long used for mortar and waterproofing, and that older material is the root of the trade term.