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placer

(plās′ər)

noun

a person who places

☆

noun

a waterborne or glacial deposit of gravel or sand containing heavy ore minerals, as gold or cassiterite, which have been eroded from their original bedrock and concentrated as small particles that can be washed out

Origin: AmSp (for Sp placel) < Catalan, lit., sandbank < plassa, a place < L platea: see place

See placer in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A glacial or alluvial deposit of sand or gravel containing eroded particles of valuable minerals.
A place where a placer deposit is washed to extract its mineral content.

Origin:

Origin: Spanish, shoal, placer

Origin: , from Catalan placer, shoal

Origin: , from plassa, place

Origin: , from Medieval Latin placea; see place

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