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.

---

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

---

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

Aleck continued, gleefully, whilst I drew in line, and my kite slowly descended; "we shall have time for the sailing match, and madrepore hunt, and the caverns—everything!"

From The Story of the White-Rock Cove by Anonymous

You have a beautiful madrepore or brain-stone on your mantel-piece, brought home from some Pacific coral-reef.

From Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore by Kingsley, Charles

Quaint madrepore inlaying every palace, from Versailles downwards, like cells of pygmies in dwelling-places of Titans.

From The Man Who Laughs by Hugo, Victor

The flat ground for miles inland is composed of nothing but madrepore, and is covered with semi-fossilised sea-shells, which have probably not been inhabited for thousands of years.

From Southern Arabia by Bent, Theodore

Another species of British madrepore, found by Mr. Gosse at Ilfracombe, and by Mr. Kingsley at Lundy Island.

From Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore by Kingsley, Charles