white coal

American  

noun

1. Informal. water, as of a stream, used for power.

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white coal British  

noun

1. water, esp when flowing and providing a potential source of usable power

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Etymology

Origin of white coal

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white coal

He used white coal ash for the lines.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2023

It features both the Carter Family’s foundational rural twang and Mississippi John Hurt’s sweet blues music; and mixes Southern Black jug bands with banjo-playing white coal miners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2020

As Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba have no coal mines, "white coal" is a vital necessity.

From Canada by Bourinot, John George, Sir

There is surely enough "white coal" rushing by us to turn the wheels of the factories of a continent.

From The New North by Cameron, Agnes Deans

This would be a plan for the wedding of the stream and the mine, the white coal with the black.

From Conservation Through Engineering Extract from the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior by Lane, Franklin K.