coal patch

English

Etymology

The term patch is believed to derive from the German word pacht, which translates "to rent," referencing the fact that everything in the town was rented from or owned by the company.[1]

Noun

coal patch (plural coal patches)

  2. (informal, historical, Western Pennsylvania, countable) A company town built by a coal or mining company to house its workers and their families.
    Synonym: patch town
    Holonyms: coal patch (coal country sense), coal country
    • 2024, Kevin Fedarko, “Chapter 3: Hell With the Lid Off”, in A Walk in the Park, page 22:
      Mike Fedarko grew up in a coal patch, a cluster of company-owned houses and a company-run store, directly adjacent to a mine and often named after the nearest headframe or winding tower [...]
  4. (informal, uncountable) Coal country.
    Meronym: coal patch (patch town sense)
    Coordinate terms: oilpatch, oil patch, oil country

References

  1. ^ Moore, Daniel. "The boom and bust of Pennsylvania's coal towns". Post-Gazette.
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