kaevurid

Kaevurid is an Estonian noun meaning a person who works in mining. It is commonly translated as “miner” and is used to refer to workers who extract minerals such as coal, oil shale, or ore. The plural form kaevurid is used for a group of such workers.

In Estonian, the word derives from the verb kaevama “to dig” and uses the agent suffix -ur; the plural is formed with -id.

In historical and contemporary contexts, kaevurid can denote workers in any mining operation, including surface and underground work. In Estonia, oil shale mining has been a significant industry, and workers in that sector are among those described by the term kaevurid. The term is neutral and can appear in academic, journalistic, and literary contexts when discussing mining labor.

The profession has social and economic implications, such as labor conditions and production cycles, and has appeared in discussions of industrial history. However, kaevurid does not specify a particular mineral or mine; it simply denotes a person who digs for resources as part of a mining operation. The word is gender-neutral and can refer to both male and female workers.