A horizontal or nearly horizontal entrance to a mine, tunnel, or underground excavation.
From Latin aditus meaning 'an approach' or 'entrance,' derived from ad- (to) + ire (to go). The word was borrowed into English mining terminology in the 16th century, where it remains the technical term for this type of mine entrance.
Miners preferred adits over vertical shafts because you could walk straight in and gravity would naturally drain water out—a simple engineering solution that ancient Romans understood, which is why they used the Latin word first.
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