minelayern.
/ˈmʌɪnˌleɪə/, U.S. /ˈmaɪnˌleɪ(ə)r/ A warship or other vehicle equipped to lay explosive mines. Also: a person responsible for laying mines (rare).
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > mine-layer
minelayer1886
miner1898
mining ship1905
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > minelayer
minelayer1939
1886 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Dec. 162/2 Another foe (more silent than English caution, more insidious than the work of an eastern mine-layer..), the silent, insidious, relentless enemy which we call ‘Pestilence’.
1909 Q. Rev. Oct. 575 Six second-class cruisers of the Naval Defence Act have been converted into mine-layers.
1939 War Illustr. 16 Dec. 435 Raid by British warplanes..on the German seaplane base at Borkum. They had been looking for the mine-layers—and they had found them.
1977 B. B. Schofield Arctic Convoys i. 5 Further, the minelayer HMS Adventure, was being despatched to Archangel with various supplies which included an outfit of mines.
1994 New Scientist 20 Aug. 28/1 The US Navy's highest priority..is to develop ways to watch enemy minelayers at work using submarines.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1886