haver

to undercut

verb ah-VEHR Rare

Also means

to hew (a seam)

Usage Note

Haver is a technical mining verb meaning to cut a deep notch into a coal or ore seam to ease extraction. It is unrelated to avoir and is spelled without an accent, unlike the adjective hâve ('gaunt'). The related agent noun is haveur (a miner who does this) and the machine is a haveuse.

Examples

"Les mineurs havent la couche de charbon."

Natural Translation

The miners undercut the coal seam.

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