Glossary of coal mining terminology

This is a partial glossary of coal mining terminology commonly used in the coalfields of the United Kingdom.

Some words were in use throughout the coalfields, some are historic and some are local to the different British coalfields.

Adit Afterdamp Agent Airway Bank, pit bank or pit brow Banksman or banker Bell Bevin Boys Bell pitBind Bituminous coal Blackdamp Blower Brattice Bump Butterfly Butty Cage Chargehand Charter master Chock Collier Contraband Corf or corve Damp Dataller Davy lamp Day level Deep Deputy Dip District Doggy Downcast, downcast shaft Downthrow Drawer Drift Dudley A metal container to hold drinking water Engine pit Engineer Engineman Eye or pit-eye Face or coal face Firedamp Fitter Furnace, furnace pit Gannister Garland Gate Goaf, gove or gob Headframe, headstocks or headgear Heading Heave Hewer Hurrier, putter, drawer or waggoner Inby Inset Intake Jenkin Jud Koepe winding Lampman Level Longwall face Main gate Man winding Manager Master shifter

Official Onsetter Outby Outcrop Overcast Overman Overwind Owner Pack Panel or pannel working Pass-bye Pillar Pit Pit brow lasses Pitman Props or pit props Puncheon Putter

Repairer Rescue man Return Ripper, Ripping Screens Shaft Shotfirer Sinker Slope Small coals Snap or bait Sough Spoil tip Squeeze Stinkdamp Surveyor Sylvester Timberman Trapper Tub Upcast, upcast shaft Upthrow Viewer Whitedamp Winder Winning Yard