Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bituminous” come from?

Bituminous derives from French bitumineux, from Latin bituminosus, combining Latin -osus with Gaulish bitu, from Proto-Celtic betwiyos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷet-.

bituminous (English): Of or pertaining to bitumen; Bituminous coal; A...

Definitions

  1. Of or pertaining to bitumen; Bituminous coal; A...

Ancestry of “bituminous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbitumineuxbituminous
2Latinbituminosusabounding in bitumen or pitch; bituminous
3Latinbitūmen—
4Latin-menforms neuter nouns of the third declension
5Proto-Italic*-mn̥—

Words derived from “bituminous”

  • subbituminous
  • nonbituminous
  • calcareobituminous
  • pyrobituminous
Every word from Proto-Italic *-mn̥ →