Colliery
/ˈkɒl.i.ə.ri/noun
A coal mine and its associated buildings and equipment.
Did you know?Colliery is a later English formation from coal, ultimately from Old English *col* meaning “charcoal, ember, coal,” so its history is less occult than its underground, underworld setting suggests.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷel-
“to be dark, to shine, or to glow”
Old English
OE
col
“coal, ember, charcoal”
Middle English
ME
cole
“coal”
Late Middle English
English
-ery
“a place associated with a particular activity or thing”
16th Century
English
colliery
“a coal mine, especially one with its workings and buildings”
Modern English
English
colliery
“a coal mine and its associated buildings and equipment”