Ore

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /oɹ/

Definitions

1. A mineral deposit containing precious materials that can be economically extracted through mining practices
2. A naturally found rock or sediment that holds economically viable minerals or metals suitable for extraction
3. A naturally occurring rock that includes metal compounds that are valuable enough for mining

Etymology: Old English "ār" meant bronze, copper or brass, and it is the word's oldest ancestor. It belongs to a family of ancient words for metal that stretches from Latin "aes" to Sanskrit "áyas", and cognates appear in Old Norse "eir" and Gothic "aiz". Over time, "ār" was applied to the metal-bearing rock itself, and that is the sense the modern noun keeps. The word has a second line of descent that is less certain. English also had "oor", a form whose origin is uncertain, and the two seem to have merged into a single noun. The southern dialect form of "ware", meaning seaweed, is a separate word that turns up in the same entry. The sense "rock containing metal" may have grown partly from the idea of wealth, since a mineral-rich rock was a valuable thing to own. One suggested example is the town of Leominster, whose name appears in the record in connection with it, though this link is unproven.

Synonyms: mineral, gemstone

Antonyms: waste