Getter
Getter turns up in 2 fields: vacuum, mining. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Getter in vacuum
Reactive material that removes gas from a vacuum by binding it chemically to a fresh metal surface.
A reactive metal such as titanium, a zirconium alloy or barium that pumps active gases (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, CO, CO2 and water) by forming stable compounds or dissolving them. It can be evaporated as a fresh film, as in titanium sublimation pumps or the barium flash in a sealed tube, or used as a bulk non-evaporable getter that is activated by heating. Getters do not pump noble gases and pump methane only weakly, so they are paired with an ion pump or turbo.
"Pressure in the sealed sensor package is holding because the getter's soaking up the hydrogen."
Getter in mining
A historic coal miner whose primary job was to cut and break the coal from the face.
In traditional coal mining, this worker physically extracted the coal from the seam using a pick, wedges, or explosives. The role was distinct from the transport workers who hauled the broken rock away. It was a highly skilled and physically demanding position that required reading the cleavage of the coal to maximize extraction.
"My great-grandfather worked as a getter in the deep seams before they brought in the mechanized shearers."