tarmac
English edit
Etymology edit
Clipping of tarmacadam, which is tar + macadam (crushed stones). Originally a trademark owned by its inventor, Edgar Hooley.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tarmac (countable and uncountable, plural tarmacs)
- Tarmacadam.
- Coordinate term: asphalt concrete
- (loosely, UK, Ireland, Canada) Any bituminous road surfacing material.
- Synonym: asphalt
- 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[1]:
- How meek and shrunken did that haughty Tarmac become as it slunk by the wide circle of asphalt of the yellow sort, that was loosely strewn before the great iron gates of Lady Hall as a forerunner of the consideration that awaited the guests of Rupert, Earl of Kare, […] .
- (UK, Ireland, Canada) The driveable surface of a road.
- (informal, aviation) The area of an airport, other than the runway, where planes park or maneuver.
Translations edit
bituminous road surface
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area of an airport, where planes park or maneuver
See also edit
Verb edit
tarmac (third-person singular simple present tarmacs, present participle tarmacking or tarmacing or tarmaccing, simple past and past participle tarmacked or tarmaced or tarmacced)
- (British, Canada) To pave with tarmacadam or a similar material.
- 2014, Taking the rough with the smooth: Bolton residents anger over half-tarmaced road, ITV Granada:
- Residents in Bolton are angry after workmen tarmaced only one half of their road leaving the other half strewn with potholes.
- (aviation) To spend time idling on a runway, usually waiting for takeoff clearance.
Derived terms edit
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from English, a clipping of tarmacadam. Genericized trademark.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
tarmac m (plural tarmacs)
- tarmac (part of airport)
Irish edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
tarmac m (genitive singular tarmac)
Declension edit
Declension of tarmac
Bare forms (no plural of this noun)
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Forms with the definite article
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Synonyms edit
References edit
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “tarmac”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN