sapparite

[Fr. sappare.] Min.: The same as KYANITE (q. v.). săp'-pěr, s. [ Fr.sapeur.] 1. Ord . Lang .: One who or that which saps. 2. Mil .: A term applied in England to officers and men of the Royal Engineers, who were originally, organized as a corps of "Sappers and Miners. They are at present divided into troops and companies. The former are mounted for telegraph and pontooning duties; the latter are designed for service in the field with the infantry columns, for which purpose they are provided with entrenching tools, .; for submarine mining on the coasts; for garrison duty, where they undertake the work of skilled mechanics, and for surveying work in Great Britain and elsewhere. Others are permanently employed in telegraph maintenance work for postal service. They are armed and equipped similarly to the infantry.