orpailleur
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French orpailleur.
Noun edit
orpailleur (plural orpailleurs)
- gold prospector, gold panner
- 2006, Minerals Yearbook, volume 3, page 1962:
- In early 2007, a large migration of workers, triggered by the discovery of placer gold made by an orpailleur, started a new gold rush at the Moralia gold placer in Kenieba.
French edit
Etymology edit
Probably an alteration of Middle French harpailleur, by assimilation with or (“gold”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
orpailleur m (plural orpailleurs)
- gold prospector, gold panner, one who pans for gold
Further reading edit
- “orpailleur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.