A basket, especially one used in coal mines to carry coal, or an old labor obligation where peasants had to work for their lord.
From Old French 'corve' and Latin 'corbis' meaning 'basket.' It evolved in English around the 14th century, particularly in mining contexts and feudal labor terminology.
Coal miners in England used these baskets for centuries, and the word became so identified with mining that it's almost a time capsule of industrial history—you can trace working conditions through a single word.
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