Placer Meaning
/ˈpleɪsə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne who places or arranges something.
nounOne who deals in stolen goods; a fence.
Sentence Examples
The prospector found gold in the placer deposits of the river.
Placer mining is a common way to look for precious metals.
The miners searched for gold in the placer deposits.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The miner who sifts river sediment for gold flakes is called a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The gold miners used ____ mining techniques to sift through river sediment for precious metal.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English place Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English placer From place + -er (agent noun suffix).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Thou placer of plants both humble and tall"
— 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Februarie. Ægloga Secunda.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:
"This is a “placer” sheep, as it is called. The prerequisites to this condition are that the young sheep must be still nursing, but must have begun to nibble grass. It must be the young of a mother that has been somewhat isolated, away from the corral and away from the herd, by herself out on the prairie. Now, when the mother dies, the lamb remains close to the mother′s body[…]."
— 1951, Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, Problems of Infancy and Childhood, volume 4, page 101:
"Placer gold comes from the weathering of the primary veins releasing the gold to be transported by water action and concentrated in gravel or sand beds."
— 1995, Paul T. Craddock, Early Metal Mining and Production, page 110:
"Since time immemorial, people found that they could extract the gold from placer deposits by sifting the fine-grained material through a mesh: the technique of panning."
— 2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 46:
"He still ran a placer mine in the Interior."
— 2008, Tanyo Ravicz, Of Knives and Men: Alaskans, page 77:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The miner who sifts river sediment for gold flakes is called a ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The gold miners used ____ mining techniques to sift through river sediment for precious metal.