n. [ F. See Bitumen. ] Bitumen. [ Poetic ] May. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Smeared with bitumen. [ R. ] “The hatches caulked and bitumed.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. bitumen: cf. F. bitume. Cf. Béton. ] 1. Mineral pitch; a black, tarry substance, burning with a bright flame; Jew's pitch. It occurs as an abundant natural product in many places, as on the shores of the Dead and Caspian Seas. It is used in cements, in the construction of pavements, etc. See Asphalt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. By extension, any one of the natural hydrocarbons, including the hard, solid, brittle varieties called asphalt, the semisolid maltha and mineral tars, the oily petroleums, and even the light, volatile naphthas. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Photog.) Any process in which advantage is taken of the fact that prepared bitumen is rendered insoluble by exposure to light, as in photolithography. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bituminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminating. ] [ L. bituminatus, p. p. of bituminare to bituminate. See Bitumen. ] To treat or impregnate with bitumen; to cement with bitumen. “Bituminated walls of Babylon.” Feltham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Bitumen + -ferous. ] Producing bitumen. Kirwan. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. bituminisation. ] The process of bituminizing. Mantell. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bituminized p. pr. & vb. n. Bituminizing. ] [ Cf. F. bituminiser. ] To prepare, treat, impregnate, or coat with bitumen. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. of or pertaining to bitumen. like a bitumenoid remark
Syn. -- bitumenoid. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ L. bituminosus: cf. F. bitumineux. ] Having the qualities of bitumen; compounded with bitumen; containing bitumen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flamed. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bituminous coal, a kind of coal which yields, when heated, a considerable amount of volatile bituminous matter. It burns with a yellow smoky flame. --
Bituminous limestone, a mineral of a brown or black color, emitting an unpleasant smell when rubbed. That of Dalmatia is so charged with bitumen that it may be cut like soap. --
Bituminous shale, an argillaceous shale impregnated with bitumen, often accompanying coal. [ 1913 Webster ]