nugget Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a solid lump of a precious metal (especially gold) as found in the earth

WordNet

Nug"get noun
Etymology
Earlier niggot, prob. for nigot, an ingot. See Ingot.
Definitions
  1. A lump; a mass, esp. a native lump of a precious metal; as, a nugget of gold.

Webster 1913