abalone
Other forms: abalones
An abalone is a mollusk found in warm seas. Abalones have an ear-shaped shell with a pearly interior.
It hardly seems fair that this large mollusk is only one syllable away from being baloney, since the two words are unrelated. The pearly interior of the abalone — which yields mother-of-pearl — makes this animal quite a prize, since mother-of-pearl is used in many types of jewelry. The abalone is part of the genus Haliotis: because of its ear-shaped shell, it is also known as a sea ear or ear shell. Other mollusks include squid, clams, and octopuses.
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any of various large edible marine gastropods of the genus Haliotis having an ear-shaped shell with pearly interior
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Vocabulary lists containing abalone
Here are 15 common English words whose roots come from indigenous languages of the Americas. The fate of the people who spoke these languages varies greatly, from tribes lost to history (that we only know about through records of other tribes) to the Guarani, whose language at last count had over 4 million speakers in Paraguay. All of these peoples, whatever their current status, have contributed their ideas and their perspectives through the English words below. Many of these terms have to do with animals and foods to be found in nature, but the Algonquian roots of "tuxedo" may come as a surprise! Read on below for tales of many more English words from indigenous sources.
Are you angling for a bigger vocabulary to tell your next fish story? Let this list lure you under the waves, where you'll catch a net full of shiny words from the ocean kingdom. Take the plunge!
Karana's people have left her behind on the island where she was born. Now she must learn to survive while contending with fearsome wild dogs, an unforgiving landscape, and her own loneliness.