Mineshafts

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A deep vertical or sloped excavation in the earth used for accessing mineral resources
2. A construction designed for the extraction of valuable materials such as coal or metals from beneath the surface
3. An entrance or access point to a network of tunnels created for mining activities

Etymology: Mineshaft is a compound of "mine" and "shaft," and the pieces have very different histories. "Shaft" comes from Old English "sceaft," meaning the straight pole of a spear or the handle of a tool, and it was that long, straight rod sense that eventually gave rise to the sense of a narrow vertical passage. "Mine" traces back through Old French to a Gaulish or Celtic root, and it originally referred to the digging itself rather than only to the ore pit. The combined sense is therefore a plain description: a narrow vertical or sloping passage cut into the ground to reach ore or coal. The plural "mineshafts" simply adds the plural "-s" to that compound, so its story is the story of its two components joined together.

Synonyms: tunnels, shafts, excavations