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Glite Dictionary
collier

collier

3 9.8
A person who works in a coal mine digging out coal
  • noun
  • /ˈkɑːliər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : minero
  • All the colliers go to hear him bythe thousands.

Examples

  • Most of the people living nearby at this time were either weavers, colliers, or market gardeners.

    Blog text (27)

  • No, for then we should be colliers.

    Shakespeare in Love (1998)

  • The collier worked hard every day to extract coal from deep underground.

  • Many colliers in the region protested for safer working conditions in the mines.

  • As a collier, he spent years in the dark tunnels, digging out coal for the community.

Synonyms

miner
vscollier
313 2.3

A person who works in a mine to take coal or minerals from the ground

refers specifically to extracting coal underground rather than any mined material
coal miner
vscollier
26 2.5

A person who works underground to dig out coal

emphasizes the physical digging and removal of coal underground
pitman
vscollier
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who works underground in a coal mine

does not specify gender and applies to any person in that job
mineworker
vscollier
1 3.3

A person who works in a mine to take out coal or minerals

is specific to extracting coal underground rather than general mine work

Surface Forms

collier singular
colliers plural

Morphology

collier = coal (semi-transparent) = coll + ier

While 'collier' is related to 'coal', the specific occupational meaning is not immediately obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Collier comes from the old word coal plus the ending -ier, which marks a person 'who works with' or 'is connected to' something. So a collier is literally someone who works with coal, which is why the word means a coal miner who digs and removes coal underground.