mine 
Bothc to me and to miinf mykull vnright, 
And to yow & also yours ,-sonieryiig for euer. 
Destruction of Tray (E. K. T. S.), 1. 172L 
Ho shall glorify mo : for he shall receive of mine, and 
shall show It unto you. John xvl. 14. 
If you like me, she shall have me and mine. 
Shale., T. of the S., II. 1. 385. 
Of mine. Hee of. 
mine- (min), . [< ME. mine, myne = D. mijii = 
G. Dau. mine = K\\. miiia, < F. mine = Sp. Pg. 
It. niiii/i. < ML. mi mi, a miue, < minare, open a 
mine, lead from place to place: see '*, .] 
1. An excavation iii the earth made for the 
purpose of getting metals, ores, or coal, nine- 
work. In metal-mines, consists In sinking shafts and winzes, 
running levels, and sloping out the contents of the vein 
thus made ready for removal. In coal-mining the opera- 
tions differ In detail from those carried on In connection 
with metal-mines, but are the same In principle. The 
details vary in coal-mining with the position and thick- 
ness of the beds. A mint differs from a quarry In tbat 
the latter is usually open to the day; but In any mine a 
part of the excavations may be an openwork (see that 
word), as in running an adit-level, which may be carried 
to a considerable distance before becoming covered by 
earth or rock. When the term mine is used, it Is gener- 
ally understood that the excavation BO named is in actual 
course of exploitation ; otherwise some qualifying term 
like abandoned is required. No occurrence of ore is des- 
ignated as a mine unless something has been done to de- 
velop It by actual mining operations. There are certain 
excavations which are called neither mine* nor quar- 
ries, as, for instance, places where clay is being dug out 
for bricks; such places are frequently (especially in 
England) called pits, and also openwarla. With few 
and not easily specified exceptions, a quarry is a place 
where building-stone, or building-materials of any kind 
(as lime, cement, etc.), are being got; a wine, where some 
metal or metalliferous ore Is in the process of exploitation. 
In English the term mine includes excavations designated 
by the French as mines, as well as some of those called 
by them mint tret; quarry is the equivalent of the French 
oarrilre. The term 7<mi is sometimes extended In use to 
Include the ores as well as the excavation. 
And alle be it that men fynden gode Dyamandes In 
Ynde, Kit nathelcsmen fynden hem more comounly upon 
the Roches in the See, and upon Hilles where the Myne of 
Oold is. Mandevitle, Travels, p. 158. 
I would not wed her for a mine of gold. 
Shale., T. of the S., 1. 2. 92. 
2. Milit. : (a) A subterraneous gallery or passage 
dug under the wall or rampart of a fortification, 
for the lodgment of a quantity of powder or 
other explosive to be used in blowing up the 
works. (6) Such an excavation when charged 
with an explosive, or the charge of explosive 
F 
Section of a Mine. 
A1KB, crater ; A B, crater-opening ; CR, radius of the crater ; AO, 
radius of explosion ; O, charge ; OD, OF, radii of rupture. 
used in such a mine, or sunk under water in 
operations of naval defense to serve a similar 
purpose to mines on land. The radius of expiation 
of such a mine is the straight line drawn from the center of 
the charge of a mine to the edge of the crater ; the radius 
qf rupture is the distance from the center to the curved 
surface to which the disturbance caused by the explosion 
extends. 
The walls and ramparts of earth, which a mine, had 
broakeu and crumbled, were of prodigious thicknesse. 
Evelyn, Diary, Aug. 7, 1641. 
With daring Feet, on springing Mines they tread 
Of secret Sulphur, In dire Ambush laid. 
Congreoe, On the Taking of Namure. 
3. Figuratively, an abounding source or store 
of anything. 
My God, that art 
The royal mine of everlasting treasure, 
Quarles, Emblems, Iv. S. 
The Assizes of Jerusalem will always remain a mine of 
feudal principles, and a treasure to scientific jurists. 
Stubbs, Medieval and Modern Hist., p. 170. 
4. An excavation made bv an insect, as a leaf- 
miner. 6. A mineral, [Prov. Eng.] 6. Ore. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Take the mini of antymony aforeseld, and make therof 
al so sotil a poudre as je kan. 
Boo* of IJuinte Essence (ed. Fnrnivall), p. 10. 
Thus, with Cleveland ironstone containing after calci- 
nation some 40 per cent, of iron, about 11 cwts, of lime- 
stone are usually requisite per ton of pig Iron, or about 
22 per cent, of the weight of mine used. 
Eitcyc. Brit., XIII. 297. 
Common mine (milil.\ a mine in which the radius of the 
crater, or circular opening produced by the explosion, is 
equal to the line of least resistance that is, the shortest 
line from the center of the charge to the surface of the 
ground. Electrical mine, a charge or series of charges 
of explosive used for mininir and exploded by electricity ; 
a submerged torpedo which can be exploded electrically 
from a distant point. 
Electrical mines have the advantage over mechanical 
that by the removal of the Bring battery the passage of a 
ship is rendered perfectly safe, and that the condition ni 
the mine can be ascertained by electrical tests ; but the 
electric cables are liable to damage, and add greatly to the 
expense of the def. i Kncyc. Brit., XXIII. 449. 
Electro-mechanical mine, a submarine mine or tor- 
pedo, usually sunk and anchored a short distance below 
the surface, containing a voltaic battery and a circuit* 
closer which can be operated by the blow the torpedo re- 
ceive* from a passing ship. 
Electro -mechanical mines can be made by placing a vol- 
taic battery Inside the mine Itself and Joining it up to a fuse 
and circuit-closer, the circuit-closer completing the cir- 
cuit when the mine I* struck. Encye. Brit., XXIII. 450. 
Fairy of the mine. See fairy. Mine-locomotive. See 
locomotive. Overcharged r surcharged mine (nuKt), 
a mine that produces a crater the radius of wlikh is 
greater than the line of least resistance. Submarine 
mine, a defensive torpedo. The Bonanza mines. See 
bonanza. Undercharged mine imilit.\ a mine that 
upon explosion produces a crater the radius of which is 
less than the line of least resistance. 
mine 4 * (rain), r. ; pret. and pp. mined, ppr. min- 
iny. [< ME. ntinen, mynen, < OF. miner, F. 
miner = Sp. Pg. minor = It. mnare(=G. minen), 
mine, < ML. minare, open a mine, lead from 
place to place, < LL. minare, drive (as by 
threats), < L. minari, threaten, < minte, threats : 
see menace; ct. minatory, etc. In part the verb 
is due to the noun.] I. intratts. 1. To dig 
a mine or pit in the earth, in order to obtain 
minerals or to make a blast for explosion, as in 
a military mine ; work in a mine. 
The enemy mined, and they countermined. 
Raleiah, Hist. World, V. III. 19. 
2. To burrow; form a lodgment by burrowing: 
as, the sand-martin mines to make a nest. 3. 
Figuratively, to work in secret ; work by secret 
or insidious means. 
Efter that his manhood and his pyne 
Made love withinne her herte for to myne. 
Chaucer, Troilus, 11. 677. 
Mining fraud shall find no way to creep 
Into their fenced ears with grave advice. 
SackvUU, Oorboduc, L 2. 
II. trans. 1. To make by digging or burrow- 
ing. 
In the time of Antecrist, a Fox schalle make there his 
trayne, and mynen an hole, where Kyng Alisandre leet 
make the Zates. Xandemtte, Travels, p. 267. 
Condemned to win? a channelled way. 
O'er the solid sheets of marble gray. 
Scott, Kokeby, il. 2. 
2. To dig away or otherwise remove the foun- 
dation from; undermine; sap: as, to mine the 
walls of a fort. 
Merke sythene over the mountter in-to his mayne londez, 
To Meloyne the mervaylous, and myne doune the wall. 
Marie Arthure (E. E. T. 8.X 1. 428. 
The Prussians arrived, mined the arches, and attempted 
to blow up the bridge, sentinels and all. 
GreviUc, Memoirs, Dec. 10, 1820. 
3. To dig mines under, for the reception of ex- 
plosives, as in mining or engineering works, 
and in military and naval operations. 
Old Parr Street is mined, sir, mined! And some 
morning we shall be blown Into blazes into blazes, sir ; 
mark my words ! Thackeray, Adventures of Philip, vii. 
There are many places where no sort of stationary mines 
could possibly survive a gale, and although the waters 
may be reported as mined in all directions, a bold test 
would show them to be clear of such dangers. 
y. A. Rev., CXLI. 274. 
4. Figuratively, to ruin or destroy by slow or 
secret methods. 
Whiles rank corruption, mining all within, 
Infects unseen. Shale., Hamlet, iii. 4. 148. 
Rending friends asunder, 
Dividing families, betraying counsels, 
Whispering false lies, or mininrf men with praises. 
B. Jonson, Volpoue, iii. 1. 
mine 3 t (mm), v. t. [< ME. minen, mynen, mtinen, 
< AS. gemynan, remember, cf . gemunan, remem- 
ber: see min 3 , mind 1 , mint 3 , etc.] Same as 
mind 1 . 
mine-captain (min'kap'tan), n. The overseer 
of a mine. 
mine-chamber (min'chamter), n. Mint., the 
place where the explosive charge is deposited 
in a mine. 
mine-dial (mln'dl'al), n. See ilini. 8. 
mine-mant (min'man), n. A miner. 
I speak in other papers as if there may be a volatile gold 
in some ores and other minerals, where the mine-men do 
not flnd anything of tliut metal. Boyle, Works. III. 99. 
mineont, n. An obsolete form of minion*. 
miner (mi'ner), n. [< ME. minour, mynovr, mi/- 
nor, < OF. minour, menour, F. mineur, < ML. 
minator (cf. Sp. minero = Pg. mineiro, < ML. 
minarius), a miner, < minare, mine: see mini". 
r.] 1. One who mines; a person engaged in 
digging for metals or minerals, or in forming a 
military or other mine. 
mineral 
Mynon of marbull ston A- iimny other thlngct. 
Destruction ,,i t r, ,, , I. I I . - ,, L liK. 
2. Inroo/., an insect that mines: rhictty in com- 
position: as, a leaf-miH' r. - Minen' inch. SeeineAi. 
mineral (min'e-ral), n. and a. [= D. 
= G. Sw. Dan'.' mineral, < OF. minrral, F. I 
rul = Sp. Pg. mineral = It. mim /.///. a mineral. 
< ML. mini-rule, also minorale, a mineral, ore, 
also a mine (often in pi. mineral 'm. mnnniilia, > 
OF. minerailles, minerals), prop. neut. of 
ralix, adj. (which, however, occurs much Inter 
than the noun), < minera, mineria (after Horn.), 
prop, m iiui ria, minariiim, a mine, also a mineral 
(> It. Sp. mincra = OF. miniere, a mine, F. mi- 
n KIT, > G. miner, a mineral, ore), fern, and neut. 
respectively of an adj. minarius, pertaining to 
a mine (as a noun, minariux, m., a miner: see 
miner), equiv. to minu, a mine, < minare, mine, 
open a mine: see twine 2 .] I. n. 1. Any con- 
stituent of the earth's crust; more specifically, 
an inorganic body occurring in nature, homo- 
geneous and having a definite chemical com- 
position which can be expressed by a chemi- 
cal formula, and further having certain distin- 
guishing physical characters. A mineral is In al- 
most every case a solid body, and, if It has been formed 
under suitable conditions, it has, besides Its definite chem- 
ical composition, a definite molecular structure, which is 
exhibited externally In Its crystalline form and also inter- 
nally In its cleavage, Its behavior with respect to light 
(optical properties^, heat-propagation, electricity, etc. Fur- 
thermore, it has other characters, which may belong to It 
even when amorphous (though sometimes modified by 
crystallization), as specific gravity, hardness, fracture, te- 
nacity, luster, color, fusibility, etc. A certain variation 
In physical characters Is consistent with the Identity of 
a mineral species, but if the same substance, as calcium 
carbonate in calcite and in aragonite, occurs in two or 
more groups of crystals which cannot be referred to the 
same fundamental form, each Is ranked as a distinct spe- 
cies. A difference In specific gravity and in some other 
physical characters usually accompanies the difference In 
crystallization. How great a variation ill chemical com- 
position, as by isomorphous replacement, is consistent 
with the identity of a single mineral species Is a point 
about which opinion differs : some authors treat the garnets 
(all of which nave the same form and the same general 
formula) as a group of related species, and others as vari- 
eties of a single species. Chemical compounds formed 
in the laboratory or in the arts are not regarded as min- 
erals ; but where such compounds as are already known 
as occurring In nature are thus formed they are usually 
called artificial minerals. Much attention lias been de- 
voted of recent years to the artificial reproduction of min- 
erals, but almost solely as a matter of scientific Interest, 
and as throwing light on the processes of nature. 
2t. A mine, fitcerens. 
His very madness, like some ore 
Among a mineral of metals base, 
Shows itself pure. Shot., Hamlet, Iv. 1 2B. 
.-hall It not be a wild fig In a wall, 
Or fired brimstone In a minerattf 
Bp. Hall, Satires, vl. 
Acidlferous mineral See aridifermu. Adlpocere 
mineral See adipocere. JEtnlops mineral). See 
cethvips. Agaric, bezoar, chameleon, etc., mineral. 
See the qualifying words. Altered mineral, one which 
has undergone more or less chemical change under the 
processes of nature. The investigation < f the alteration of 
minerals and of the pseudomorphous minerals (see pnevdo- 
morph and pseudomorphism) thus formed is a prominent 
brauchof mineralogy. Crystal miners 1, scl de prunelle, 
a mixture of potassium nitrate and sulphate. Mineral- 
deposit, any valuable mass of ore. I Ike ore-drptisit. it may 
be used with reference to any mode of occurrence of ore, 
whether having the characters of a true, segregated, or 
gash vein, or of any other form in which ores are found oc- 
curring. Seeor-<Mru<j#f. Torbane Hill mineral. Same 
as Boyhead coal (which see, under coal). 
II. a. 1. Having the nature or character of 
a mineral as defined above; obtained from a 
mineral or minerals; belonging to the class of 
minerals; consisting of minerals: as, a mineral 
substance; the mineral kingdom. Coal dug from 
the earth is sometimes called mineral oial, to distinguish 
it from charconl, which is artificially prepared by charring 
wood. 
The lofty lines abound with endless store 
Of mineral treasure. 
Sir K. Blaclrmore, Creation, lit 
2. Impregnated with minerals or mineral mat- 
ter: as, mineral waters; a mineral spring. 
Mineral adds, a name given to sulphuric, nitric, and 
hydrochloric acids. Mineral ftllraH Same as soda. 
Mineral black, an impure variety of carbon, of gray- 
black color, sometimes used as a pigment. Mineral 
blue. See Wi. Mineral candle. See candle. Min- 
eral caoutchouc, a variety of bitumen, intermediate 
between the harder and softer kinds. It sometimes 
much resembles india-rubber in Its softness and elastici- 
ty, hence its name. It ocean near Castleton in Derby- 
shire. Also called elaterite. Mineral Chameleon. See 
chameleon. Mineral charcoal Same as mother-of-mal 
(which see, under coa/X Mineral CcaL See II., 1, and 
coal, 2. Mineral cotton, aflberformed by allowingalet 
of steam to escape through a stream of liquid slg, by which 
the slag Is blown Into fine white threads. It Is a poor con- 
ductor of heat, and Is therefore suggested as a covering for 
steam-boilers and -pipes. (B. U. Knight.) A variety with 
short fiber is called mineral irool, and is used as a non-con- 
ductor of heat, a deafening for floors of buildings, etc. 
Mineral flax. See ajfcofe*. Mineral gray. See gray. 
Mineral greens. See green*. Mineral kingdom, 
