adit
noun
- horizontal or nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈadɪt/ / /ˈædɪt/ / /ˈæ.dɪt/
name
Etymology: Hypocorism of Aditya.
- A diminutive of the male given name Aditya, from Sanskrit.
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin aditus (“entrance, access”), from ad (“to, up to”) + itus (“going, departure”).
- A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine, as contrasted with a shaft or vertical entry passage, used for ventilation, haulage, drainage, or other purposes.
“A narrow and untrodden cavern at the bottom connects it with the outer sea; they could even then hear the mysterious thunder and gurgle of the surge in the subterranean adit, as it rolled huge boulders to and fro in darkness, and forced before it gusts of pent-up air.”
“What all these passages are, of course I cannot say, but we thought that they must be the ancient workings of a mine, of which the various shafts and adits travelled hither and thither as the ore led them.”