PLACER

PRONUNCIATION: (for 1 & 2: PLAS-uhr, for 3 & 4: PLAY-suhr)

MEANING: noun:
1. A deposit of valuable minerals found in sand or gravel.
2. A place where such a deposit is washed to extract the valuable minerals.
3. One who finishes in a particular place in a contest.
4. One who arranges something.

ETYMOLOGY: For 1 & 2: From Spanish placer (sandbank), from Catalan placer (shoal), from Latin platea (street), from Greek plateia hodos (broad street). Earliest documented use: 1829.
For 3 & 4: From place, from Latin platea (street), from Greek plateia hodos (broad street). Earliest documented use: 1578.
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UPLACER - one who fastens footwear firmly on the feet

POL-ACER - a Canadian (maple-leaf) politician

P.R. ACER - one who pulls off a public-relations riumph