What does bord mean?
"Bord" is a specialized noun used almost exclusively in coal mining. In bord-and-pillar extraction — a method still widespread in South Africa and Australia — miners drive a network of parallel passages, called bords, directly into the coal seam. The rectangular blocks of coal left uncut between these bords are known as pillars, and together they support the weight of the rock overhead, allowing safe removal of part of the seam without immediate collapse. The word belongs firmly to underground jargon rather than everyday speech, so general readers typically meet it only in technical reports, histories of mining, or descriptions of colliery layouts. Because it sounds identical to the common word "board" when spoken aloud, written context usually makes clear which word is meant. For anyone studying mining methods or industrial history, "bord" is an indispensable term for understanding how early room-and-pillar workings were planned and described.
nounA broad passage or chamber excavated in a coal seam during bord-and-pillar mining, leaving pillars of unmined coal to support the roof.
- A chamber or passage cut into a coal seam in bord-and-pillar mining, leaving supporting pillars of coal.
"The miners worked the seam by driving bords into the coal and leaving pillars between them."
"The crews advanced the bord steadily, propping the roof as they went."
"In bord-and-pillar workings, roughly half the coal is left standing in pillars between the bords."
The plural simply adds -s, following regular noun inflection.
"The old mine plan showed dozens of bords branching off the main roadway."
While most of us have never heard of it, 'bord' names the very rooms carved out of coal seams by generations of underground miners.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bord
"Bord" descends from the ancient Germanic root behind the ordinary English word "board" (a plank or flat surface), which also gave rise to terms such as aboard and overboard. The mining usage developed as a trade term in the coalfields, describing the wide working places cut from the seam, though its precise route into English mining vocabulary is not firmly documented.
How bord is actually used
Almost entirely confined to mining jargon, especially in South Africa and Australia where bord-and-pillar extraction remains common. General-purpose readers will encounter it only in technical or historical texts about coal mining.
Easily confused with bord
"Board" is a flat piece of sawn wood or a committee, while "bord" is a mining term for an excavated chamber in a coal seam.
"Bored" is the past tense of bore meaning to feel weary or to drill a hole, whereas "bord" is a noun for a mined-out passage.