Mining

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈmaɪnɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The extraction of valuable natural resources from beneath the Earth's surface involves various techniques and methods used for economic gain
2. The process of obtaining precious materials from the earth encompasses diverse techniques aimed at economic advantage and resource availability
3. The activity of extracting minerals and ores from the ground for marketable purposes involves methods that include digging, drilling, and processing of materials

Etymology: The verb "mine" and the noun "mine" are two different words that came to share a spelling. The noun, meaning an excavation for ore, arrived in English from French "mine", which in turn came from Late Latin "mina", a word borrowed from Gaulish, the Celtic language of ancient Gaul. The Gaulish root, reconstructed as *meinis, meant "ore" or "metal", and it survives in modern Welsh "mwyn" and Irish "mianach", both still meaning ore. So the mineral sense is the word's original sense, and the Celtic roots show it traveled into Latin before reaching English. The verb is a different story. It comes from the noun, so "to mine" means to dig for minerals, and "mining" is simply the activity of doing so, formed by adding the ending that turns the verb into a continuous action. The noun "mine" was used earlier in English for underground workings, and this is the sense the activity grew out of.

Synonyms: excavation, digging, quarrying, extraction, harvesting

Antonyms: restoration, reclamation, recovery, recycling, repair