abalone

[ ab-uh-loh-nee ]

/ ˌæb əˈloʊ ni /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR abalone ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a large mollusk of the genus Haliotis, having a bowllike shell bearing a row of respiratory holes, the flesh of which is used for food and the shell for ornament and as a source of mother-of-pearl.

RELATED WORDS

mollusk, ear, ormer

Nearby words

Origin of abalone

1840–50, Americanism; taken as singular of California Spanish abulones, plural of abulón, aulón < a word in Rumsen, a Costanoan language formerly spoken at Monterey, California

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for abalone

In California, tourists have been pitted against career foragers, causing problems for wild mushrooms and abalone.
The Foraging Wars: Extreme Eating Hits California|Debra A. Klein|January 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are also beautiful fossils and corals and abalone shells.
Life at Puget Sound: With Sketches of Travel in Washington Territory, British Columbia, Oregon and California|Caroline C. Leighton
But the abalone—as a Christian comestible he is a stranger to me and the tooth o' me.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce|Ambrose Bierce
The thought came to me that if I should keep perfectly quiet, the abalone might think his danger gone and loosen his grip.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer|J. W. Duffield

They fasten a chain to the abalone, and it swims out and attaches itself to the under side of a shark.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer|J. W. Duffield
Both the exterior and the lining of the abalone shell have most exquisite coloring and are capable of a high polish.
Across the Continent by the Lincoln Highway|Effie Price Gladding

British Dictionary definitions for abalone

abalone

/ (ˌæbəˈləʊnɪ) /

noun

any of various edible marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Haliotis, having an ear-shaped shell that is perforated with a row of respiratory holes. The shells are used for ornament or decorationAlso called: ear shell See also ormer

Word Origin for abalone

C19: from American Spanish abulón; origin unknown

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for abalone

abalone

type of marine shell, 1850, American English, from Spanish abulon from Costanoan (a California coastal Indian language family) aluan "red abalone."