Coalfaces

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The exposed vertical or sloping surfaces of coal seams where miners cut and extract the mineral underground
2. The sheer working walls of coal within a mine from which blocks of coal are hewn and loaded away
3. Exposed seams of coal at the front of a mine where extraction takes place and the mineral is removed

Etymology: "Coalfaces" is simply the plural of "coalface," which is a compound of "coal" and "face." The face is the exposed working surface at which coal is cut or dug, so the word originally named the literal wall of coal a miner hews at underground. Its meaning has since widened: "coalface" is often used figuratively for the place where hard, practical work is actually done, a sense that moves the image from the mine into any demanding workplace.