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adit

[ad-it]
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noun
  1. an entrance or a passage.
  2. Also called entry. Mining. a nearly horizontal passage leading into a mine.
  3. an approach or access.
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Origin of adit

1595–1605; < Latin aditus an approach, equivalent to ad- ad- + -i- (stem of īre to go) + -tus suffix of v. action
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for adit

Historical Examples

  • “Push the adit right on, if we have to cut every foot of it with the drill,” he said.

    The Gold Trail

    Harold Bindloss

  • Not likely; but we can get down to the water and go along the adit.

    Menhardoc

    George Manville Fenn

  • A few minutes sufficed to bring them to the beach at the mouth of the adit.

  • “Why there must be an adit,” cried Hardock, in a tone full of wonder.

    Sappers and Miners

    George Manville Fenn

  • Note; an adit is a horizontal shaft driven in from the cliff.

    Sappers and Miners

    George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for adit

adit

noun
  1. an almost horizontal shaft into a mine, for access or drainage
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin aditus an approach, from adīre, from ad- towards + īre to go
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adit

n.

"entrance," c.1600, from Latin aditus "approach, entrance, a going to or drawing near," from past participle stem of adire "to approach," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + ire "to go," from PIE root *ei- "to go" (see ion).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper