A person who works in a coal mine, extracting coal from underground. Also refers to a ship designed to transport coal.
From Middle English 'colier', derived from 'cole' (coal) plus the agent suffix '-ier'. The term dates to the 14th century, reflecting the growing importance of coal in medieval England's economy.
Colliers were the backbone of the Industrial Revolution, yet their dangerous underground work often went unrecognized until mining disasters brought their plight to public attention. The dual meaning of the word—both the worker and the ship—shows how coal shaped entire industries and communities.
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