macadam
noun
- type of road construction pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /məˈkædəm/
name
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *makkʷos Primitive Irish ᚋᚐᚊᚊᚔ (maqqi) Old Irish macc Middle Irish mac Scottish Gaelic mac Proto-Semitic *ʔadam- Hebrew אָדָםbor. Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám)bor. Latin Ādāmder. Old Irish Ádam Scottish Gaelic Àdhamh Scottish Gaelic Mac Àdhaimhder. English MacAdam Derived from Scottish Gaelic Mac Àdhaimh (“Adam's son”).
- A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
noun
Etymology: Named after Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), who invented the process of macadamization. Used for describing road surfaces originally constructed using the McAdam method, but now sometimes used for any road or street.
- The surface of a road consisting of layers of crushed stone (usually tar-coated for modern traffic).
“This narrow-gauge line had suffered the same fate as that between Schull and Skibbereen, with the track taken up except where it runs through one of the town streets and is embedded in the macadam.”
- Any road or street.
verb
Etymology: Named after Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), who invented the process of macadamization. Used for describing road surfaces originally constructed using the McAdam method, but now sometimes used for any road or street.
- To cover or surface with macadam.