Dredger

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdɹɛdʒ.ə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A vessel or machine equipped with equipment for scooping up sediment, mud, or debris from the bottom of a body of water or for excavating material from land surfaces
2. A device or watercraft designed to remove sediment, silt, or debris from aquatic environments or to extract minerals from terrestrial areas
3. An apparatus or ship utilized for the purpose of digging up and collecting unwanted materials from underwater locations or from soil

Etymology: The word is a simple agent formation: "dredge" with the suffix "-er," meaning one that performs the action. The verb "dredge" is the older word here, and the suffix is the more ancient part of the story. It descends from a very old Germanic and Latin ending, "-arius," which Latin used to mark a person or thing connected with an activity, and which passed into English through Old French and Old English forms of the same "-er" ending. A dredger, then, is literally "one that dredges." The machine sense, a vessel or apparatus for scooping up silt, sand, or debris from the bottom of a harbour, river, or field, follows naturally from that agent meaning. The suffix itself gives no hint of water or mud; the specialised sense comes entirely from the verb it is attached to.

Synonyms: excavator, digger