champion lode
- noun
- Archaic
:
vena madre
- The miners struck the champion lode after months of fruitless digging.
Examples
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The miners discovered a rich champion lode last year.
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Throughout the region's history, the discovery of a champion lode often led to the rapid growth of mining towns.
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Geologists surveyed the site to determine whether a champion lode was present beneath the surface.
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Have you heard about the champion lode in Nevada?
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The miners struck the champion lode after months of fruitless digging.
-
Throughout the region's history, the discovery of a champion lode often led to the rapid growth of mining towns.
-
Geologists surveyed the site to determine whether a champion lode was present beneath the surface.
Synonyms
20
9.1
A rich vein of metal ore in the ground
16
6.3
A thin layer of metal or rock that runs through the ground
12
6.8
A large rich source of valuable things like gold or information
A long thin layer of mineral that fills a crack in rock and often has gold or other metals
A thin layer of rock that contains metal or other valuable rock that people can mine
Surface Forms
Morphology
champion + lode
The noun is directly compositional: 'champion' can be interpreted as 'principal' or 'best' and 'lode' means a vein of ore, so together they mean the main or most productive vein. Although the exact collocation is somewhat specialized, the overall sense is derivable from the constituents and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Champion lode comes from miners' talk: a lode is a vein of ore and champion was used for the prize or richest find. So miners called the richest, most productive vein the champion lode, which is why the phrase means the 'main' or 'most valuable' vein in a mine.