请输入您要查询的词汇:

 

词汇 asphalt
词源

asphalt n.

early 14c., "hard, resinous mineral pitch found originally in Biblical lands," from Late Latin asphaltum, from Greek asphaltos "asphalt, bitumen," often said to be from Greek a- "not" + *sphaltos "able to be thrown down," taken as verbal adjective of sphallein "to throw down," according to Beekes "under the assumption that it denoted the material that protects walls from tumbling down," but he finds this proposed etymology "weak." Perhaps from Semitic [Klein, citing Lewy, 1895] or another non-Greek source.

The meaning "paving composition of tar and gravel" dates from 1847 and its popular use in this sense established the modern form of the English word, displacing in most senses asphaltum, asphaltos. As a verb meaning "to cover with asphalt," from 1872. Related: Asphaltic.

updated on September 26, 2022

随便看

 

英语词源词典收录了45867条英语词源词条,基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史,是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。

 

Copyright © 2000-2024 Newdu.com.com All Rights Reserved
更新时间:2025/5/25 9:07:45