Talk:Placer mining
From Academic Kids
This article says "name derives from the French placer, meaning pleasure", but I have a text which says the word is of Spanish origin. Could someone verify which source is incorrect please? Greenmountainboy
According to Merriam-Webster:
Pronunciation: 'pla-s&r Function: noun Etymology: Spanish, from Catalan, submarine plain, from plaza place, from Latin platea broad street -- more at PLACE Date: 1848 an alluvial, marine, or glacial deposit containing particles of valuable mineral and especially of gold
--Maximus Rex 20:31, 9 Dec 2003 (UTC)
- In modern french "placer" means "to put". I see no connection with pleasure, but it may still be related to "placer mining" somehow. --FvdP
So I will now change "french" to "spanish". Is it possible that someone mistook placer for plaisir? Greenmountainboy
- I'm responsible for the reference to the French. I got it from another article, upon the creation of this one. I've forgotten what this other article was, but I do remember that it indicated the French. In modern Spanish, placer means pleasure. In my limited experience, I don't think I've ever seen it used as a verb (cf. poner), nor am I aware of the geological definition (no surprise there), but I'll check my dictionary when I get access to it (four days from now). --Smack 01:50, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)
