Macadamising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Covering a road with compacted layers of crushed stone so that it forms a hard, durable surface
2. Laying down broken rock on a roadway and binding it into a firm, smooth pavement
3. Building up a road surface from crushed stone, often sealed with tar, to make it passable and long-lasting

Etymology: "Macadamising" is the present participle of "macadamise", a verb meaning to surface a road with small broken stones, compacted so that it stays firm and sheds water. The verb is named after John Loudon McAdam, the Scottish engineer whose road-building method spread across Britain and beyond in the early nineteenth century. His name became the root of the verb, and the -ise ending attaches it to the act of building roads his way. Careful readers should note that the verb takes its meaning from the man rather than from any older word. Before McAdam's method, roads were often mud tracks or were paved with large stones, which broke up under heavy traffic. His approach used layers of carefully sized, angular stone, and the surface was consolidated by traffic and rolling rather than by a heavy foundation, which made it cheaper and quicker to lay.

Synonyms: paving, surfacing, asphalting, tarring