cauldron bottom meaning (obsolete): definition, etymology

cauldron bottom

noun

Etymology From cauldron + bottom, in reference to the shape and colour as seen from the perspective of someone in the coal mine. Compare Sicilian campanaru (literally “bell tower”) in sulfur mining.

Business, Mining UK, Obsolete, Slang A large, round mass in a coal seam that forms part of the roof of a coal mine passage (usually being a fossilized root or stump); considered a hazard due to being prone to falling without warning.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cauldron, bottom.