digger

digger · noun¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromdyggar
2. English todaydigger

From Middle English dyggar, equivalent to dig + -er. In the sense of "Australian soldier", attributed to the considerable time that soldiers spent digging trenches during World War I.

Digger · noun²

* Derived from Australian Colonial goldfields terminology. The term represents the mateship of common interests and activities where most of the population were gold miners, and almost everybody was a mate, a "digger", with a common cause against the troopers, the traps, the mining license inspectors.

Digger · noun³

From Digg + -er.