Thou placer of plants both humble and tall1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Februarie. Ægloga Secunda.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:
Etymology From American Spanish placer, from earlier placel, apparently from obsolete Portuguese placel.
1
Business, Mining alluvial; occurring in a deposit of sand or earth on a river-bed or bank, particularly with reference to precious metals such as gold or silver
Placer gold comes from the weathering of the primary veins releasing the gold to be transported by water action and concentrated in gravel or sand beds.1995, Paul T. Craddock, Early Metal Mining and Production, page 110:
Since time immemorial, people found that they could extract the gold from placer deposits by sifting the fine-grained material through a mesh: the technique of panning.2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 46:
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He still ran a placer mine in the Interior.2008, Tanyo Ravicz, Of Knives and Men: Alaskans, page 77:
placer
noun
Etymology From place + -er (suffix apparently denoting association).
1
Australia, New Zealand A lamb whose mother has died and which has transferred its attachment to an object, such as a bush or rock, in the locality.
Ethology; sheep; ethology; sheep
This is a “placer” sheep, as it is called. The prerequisites to this condition are that the young sheep must be still nursing, but must have begun to nibble grass. It must be the young of a mother that has been somewhat isolated, away from the corral and away from the herd, by herself out on the prairie. Now, when the mother dies, the lamb remains close to the mother′s body[…].1951, Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, Problems of Infancy and Childhood, volume 4, page 101:
1971, American Society of Animal Science. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 32, Pages 601-1298, page 1281, In Australia “placer” lambs are also destroyed, for these too are of little use; they will return constantly to one place, not staying with the flock.