madrepore

American  

[mad-ruh-pawr, -pohr] / ˈmæd rəˌpɔr, -ˌpoʊr /

noun

1. any true or stony coral of the order Madreporaria, forming reefs or islands in tropical seas.

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madrepore British  

/ ˌmædrɪˈpɔː, ˌmædrɪpəˈrɪtɪk, ˌmædrɪˈpɒrɪk /

noun

1. any coral of the genus Madrepora, many of which occur in tropical seas and form large coral reefs: order Zoantharia

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Other Word Forms

• madreporal adjective
• madreporian adjective
• madreporic adjective

Etymology

Origin of madrepore

1745–55; < French madrépore reef-building coral < Italian madrepora, equivalent to madre mother (< Latin māter ) + -pora, for poro < Greek pôros kind of stone

Example Sentences

It is a marvellous spectacle to see a formless fragment of calcium salt grow into a shell, a madrepore, or a fungus, and this as the result of a simple physical force.

From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane

Fixed to a piece of madrepore, this seaweed vegetates at the bottom of the ocean, at the depth of 192 feet, notwithstanding which we found its leaves as green as those of our grasses.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina

The sand, some 14 feet in depth, which originally surrounded the building, has been washed away, allowing the sea free access to the foundation caisson, which is down 14 feet into the solid madrepore.

From Report on the Department of Ports and Harbours for the Year 1890-91 by Australia. Queensland. Department of Ports and Harbours

By way of strange contrast in values the pearls were separated from each other by worthless, little, smooth lumps of madrepore, or unfossilized coral.

From The Flying Legion by England, George Allan

Thus, a gryphaea is stated by M. Virlet to have been met with in a lead-mine near Semur, in France, and a madrepore in a compact vein of cinnabar in Hungary.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir