Picture a hardhat, a headlamp and a pick, and you are on the right track. A miner is a person who makes a living digging coal, salt, gold, minerals, or other natural resources out of the earth.
The root here is the noun mine—not the word that possessive toddlers like to shout, but the one that describes a man-made underground network of tunnels and quarries. Don’t confuse miner with minor (note the “o”). Minor refers to musical intervals, small or trivial things, and people under age 18.
