Glossary

Glossary of simple sampling and database terms

ASSAY

as·say [ˈaˌsā, aˈsā]

verb

present participle: assaying

1.determine the content or quality of (a metal or ore).

2.attempt:

"I assayed a little joke of mine on him"

origin

Middle English (in the general sense ‘testing, or a test of, the merit of someone or something’): from Old French assai (noun), assaier (verb), variant of essai ‘trial,’ essayer ‘to try’ (see essay).

FLUORESCENCE

fluo·res·cence [flo͝o(ə)ˈresəns, flôrˈesəns]

noun

noun: fluorescence

1.the visible or invisible radiation emitted by certain substances as a result of incident radiation of a shorter wavelength such as X-rays or ultraviolet light.

origin

mid 19th cent.: from fluorspar (which fluoresces), on the pattern of opalescence

OPEN-PIT

o·pen-pit

adjective

adjective: open-pit

1.denoting a method of mining in which coal or ore is extracted at or from a level near the earth's surface, rather than from underground workings.

PEG

[peg]

noun

plural noun: pegs

1.a short cylindrical piece of wood, metal, or plastic, typically tapered at one end, that is used for holding things together, hanging things on, or marking a position.

synonyms pin, nail, dowel, skewer, spike, rivet, brad, screw, bolt, hook, spigot, piton, tee pin, nail, dowel, skewer, spike, rivet, brad, screw, bolt, hook, spigot, piton, tee

ROCK FACE

noun

noun: rock face, plural noun: rock faces, noun: rockface, plural noun: rockfaces, noun: rockface, plural noun: rockfaces

1.a bare vertical surface of natural rock.

SECTION

sec·tion [ˈsekSHən]

noun

noun: section, plural noun: sections

1.any of the more or less distinct parts into which something is or may be divided or from which it is made up:

"arrange orange sections on a platter"

synonyms part, piece, bit, segment, component, division, portion, element, unit, constituent part, piece, bit, segment, component, division, portion, element, unit, constituent

2.a distinct group within a larger body of people or things:

"the children's section of the library"

synonyms department, area, part, division department, area, part, division

3.the cutting of a solid by or along a plane.

verb

verb: section, third person present: sections, past tense: sectioned, past participle: sectioned, present participle: sectioning

1.divide into sections:

"she began to section the grapefruit"

origin

late Middle English (as a noun): from French section or Latin sectio(n-), from secare ‘to cut.’ The verb dates from the early 19th cent.

STOPE

[stōp]

verb

present participle: stoping

1.(in mining) excavate a series of steps or layers in (the ground or rock).

origin

mid 18th cent.: apparently related to the noun step.

SURVEY

Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is called a land surveyor. These points are usually on the surface of the Earth, and they are often used to establish land maps and boundaries for ownership, locations like building corners or the surface location of subsurface features, or other purposes required by government or civil law, such as property sales

TERRESTRIAL

ter·res·tri·al [təˈrestrēəl, -ˈresCHəl]

adjective

adjective: terrestrial

1.of, on, or relating to the earth:

"increased ultraviolet radiation may disrupt terrestrial ecosystems"

synonyms earthly, worldly, mundane, earthbound, land, sublunary earthly, worldly, mundane, earthbound, land, sublunary

noun

noun: terrestrial, plural noun: terrestrials

1.an inhabitant of the earth.

origin

late Middle English (in the sense ‘temporal, worldly, mundane’): from Latin terrestris (from terra ‘earth’) + -al.

X-RAY

[ˈeks ˌrā]

noun

plural noun: X-rays, plural noun: x-rays, plural noun: X rays

1.an electromagnetic wave of high energy and very short wavelength, which is able to pass through many materials opaque to light.

2.a photographic or digital image of the internal composition of something, especially a part of the body, produced by X-rays being passed through it and being absorbed to different degrees by different materials.

synonyms radiograph, radiogram, X-ray image/picture/photograph, roentgenogram radiograph, radiogram, X-ray image/picture/photograph, roentgenogram

verb

third person present: X-rays, third person present: x-rays, third person present: X rays

1.photograph or examine with X-rays:

"luggage bound for the hold is X-rayed"

origin

translation of German X-Strahlen (plural), from X- (because, when discovered in 1895, the nature of the rays was unknown) + Strahl ‘ray.