placer

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

placer

Wikipedia

Etymology 1

From place +‎ -er (agent noun suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpleɪsə(ɹ)/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪsə(ɹ)

Noun

placer (plural placers)

1. One who places or arranges something.
   • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Februarie. Aegloga Secunda.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: , London: Hugh Singleton, , →OCLC; reprinted as H Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender , London: John C. Nimmo, , 1890, →OCLC:

     Thou placer of plants both humble and tall

2. (slang) One who deals in stolen goods; a fence.
3. (gambling, in combination) A horse, etc. that finishes in a particular place in a race.

   a third-placer

Synonyms

• (one who places):
• (dealer in stolen goods): fence, receiver

Etymology 2

From place +‎ -er (suffix apparently denoting association).

Noun

placer (plural placers)

1. (ethology, sheep, Australia, New Zealand) A lamb whose mother has died and which has transferred its attachment to an object, such as a bush or rock, in the locality.
   • 1951, Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, Problems of Infancy and Childhood, volume 4, page 101:

     This is a “placer” sheep, as it is called. The prerequisites to this condition are that the young sheep must be still nursing, but must have begun to nibble grass. It must be the young of a mother that has been somewhat isolated, away from the corral and away from the herd, by herself out on the prairie. Now, when the mother dies, the lamb remains close to the mother′s body […] .

   • 1971, American Society of Animal Science. Journal of Animal Science, Volume 32, Pages 601-1298, page 1281,

     In Australia “placer” lambs are also destroyed, for these too are of little use; they will return constantly to one place, not staying with the flock.

See also

• cade, poddy
• imprinting

Etymology 3

From American Spanish placer, from earlier placel, apparently from obsolete Portuguese placel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplæsə(ɹ)/, /ˈpleɪsə(ɹ)/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æsə(ɹ)
• Rhymes: -eɪsə(ɹ)

Adjective

placer (not comparable)

1. (mining) alluvial; occurring in a deposit of sand or earth on a river-bed or bank, particularly with reference to precious metals such as gold or silver
   • 1995, Paul T. Craddock, Early Metal Mining and Production, page 110:

     Placer gold comes from the weathering of the primary veins releasing the gold to be transported by water action and concentrated in gravel or sand beds.

   • 2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 46:

     Since time immemorial, people found that they could extract the gold from placer deposits by sifting the fine-grained material through a mesh: the technique of panning.

   • 2008, Tanyo Ravicz, Of Knives and Men: Alaskans, page 77:

     He still ran a placer mine in the Interior.

Noun

placer (plural placers)

1. A place where the superficial detritus is washed for gold, etc.
2. (by extension) Any place holding treasures.

Derived terms

• Placer County

References

Anagrams

• carpel, craple, parcel

French

Etymology

From place +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pla.se/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophones: placé, placés, placée, placées, placez, plaçai

Verb

placer

1. to place (to put in a specific location)
2. to seat (to put an object into a place where it will rest)
3. (reflexive) to place (to earn a given spot in a competition)

Conjugation

This verb is part of a group of -er verbs for which 'c' is softened to a 'ç' before the vowels 'a' and 'o'.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Danish: placere
• → German: platzieren
• → Romanian: plasa
• → Yiddish: אײַנפּלאַצירן (aynplatsirn)

Further reading

• “placer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

• claper

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plaˈtser/

Noun

placer (uncountable)

1. pleasure

Verb

placer

1. to please

Conjugation

Latin

Verb

plācer

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of plācō

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /plaˈθeɾ/
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /plaˈseɾ/
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: pla‧cer

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin placēre, with irregular conservation of initial /pl-/ (the expected form would be *llacer). Compare Portuguese prazer.

Verb

placer (first-person singular present plazco, first-person singular preterite plací, past participle placido)

1. (intransitive, used with indirect object pronouns) to like (something or someone)

   Synonym: gustar

   Esto me place mucho.

   I really like this.

2. (literary) to please (somebody)

   Synonym: agradar

Usage notes

• The third-person forms with the stems plug- and pleg- (plugo, pluguiera, plega/plegue, pluguieron, pluguieran, etc.) are archaic. In modern literature they may be used in place of forms such as plació, plazca and placiera with the intention of recalling old-fashioned style.

Conjugation

Noun

placer m (plural placeres)

1. pleasure; something done to please

   Ha sido un placer conocerte.

   It was a pleasure to meet you

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Related to placel (“sandbank”), from plaza (“place”).

Noun

placer m (plural placeres)

1. (geology, mining) placer (place where the superficial detritus is washed for gold)
2. (nautical) sandbank

References

Further reading

• “placer”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Anagrams

• percal