mine cage
- noun
- Specialized
:
jaula de mina
- The workers entered the mine cage at the surface and descended slowly into the shaft.
Examples
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After each shift, the mine cage brings miners back up to daylight.
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The mine cage descended slowly into the dark shaft.
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Heavy equipment was loaded onto the mine cage for transport deep underground.
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Many workers rely on the mine cage for safety.
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After each shift, the mine cage brings miners back up to daylight.
-
The workers entered the mine cage at the surface and descended slowly into the shaft.
-
Heavy equipment was loaded onto the mine cage for transport deep underground.
Synonyms
301
1.0
A structure of bars or wires that keeps animals like birds from escaping
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: a 'mine cage' is simply a 'cage' (an enclosure) used in a 'mine' for carrying people or supplies, so a learner who knows both words can infer its function. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift here—the extension of 'cage' to a transport enclosure in a shaft is a regular, cross-linguistically plausible mapping.
Etymology
Mine cage is a plain name from old mining: a metal cage hung on a rope that carried workers and tools up and down the mine. So, the name means 'a platform or enclosure used to carry people and supplies up and down a mine'.