Join free

collier

English · Français · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

collier¹

  • /ˈkɒlɪə(ɹ)/ UK
  • /ˈkɑliɚ/ US
  • /ˈkɔlɪjə(ɹ)/ British, Southern, Standard

Where it comes from

From Middle English colier, colyer, alteration of earlier coler, collere (“one who makes or sells charcoal”), from Old English *colere (“collier”), equivalent to coal + -ier.

noun colliers

  1. dated, historical A person who produces (e.g., digs, mines, gathers) or sells coal (the fossil fuel type), or transports it from underground, from the soil, or from a seashore. The Black Dwarfs wear black jackets and caps, are not handsome like the others, but on the contrary are horridly ugly, with weeping eyes, like blacksmiths and colliers.

    Similar: coalminer, coalworker, coalowner, mineowner

  2. dated, historical A person in the business or occupation of producing (and selling) charcoal. For this reason, the collier took constant care to keep the covering of earth in good order.

    Similar: charcoal burner

  3. A vessel carrying a bulk cargo of coal. By 1830, more than two million tons of coal a year, principally from the North East, arrived in London by coastal collier, and that figure reached three million tons by the 1840s.

    Similar: coaler

  4. A sailor on such a vessel.
  5. slang, used by the traveller community A non-traveller.

Collier²

Where it comes from

Derived from the name of occupation - collier (“charcoal burner”).

proper noun

  1. A surname originating as an occupation.
  2. An unincorporated community in Monroe County, Georgia, United States.
  3. A township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: pitman, coal miner, coal, pendant, clamp, string, locket, necklace, shackle, collar, cooley, doctor, lei, neck, macmillan, crowell

Translations

Every language

noun crew member on a coalship

中文煤船員 /煤船员

noun vessel

Françaischarbonnier
DeutschKohlenschiff
Italianocarboniera
Ελληνικάανθρακοφόρο anthrakofóro, καρβουνιάρικο karvouniáriko
Русскийу́гольщик úgolʹščik

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"collier." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/collier. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

collier. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/collier

Chicago

"collier." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/collier.

BibTeX
@misc{collier_2026,
  title = {collier},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/collier},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}