Miner
/ˈmaɪnər/noun
A person who extracts ore, coal, or other minerals from the earth.
Did you know?Miner comes through Old French from Late Latin *minare*, a word linked to digging and quarrying, and it shares a deep root with words about mining, quarrying, and even the ancient sense of “mine” as a source of extracted wealth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mei-
“To cut, sharpen, or change (a broad ancient root behind several Latin word families).”
Latin
Latin
minare
“To drive, urge on; in later specialized uses, to work or extract by digging/quarrying.”
Late Latin
Latin
minarius
“A worker in a mine or quarry.”
Old French
Old French
mineur
“A miner; one who digs for ore or stone.”
Middle English
English
minour
“A person who mines or works underground for minerals.”
Modern English
English
miner
“A person who extracts ore, coal, or other minerals from the earth.”