abalone

[ ab-uh-loh-nee ]

/ ˌæb əˈloʊ ni /

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.

Nearby words

abadie's sign of tabes dorsalis, abaft, abagtha, abailard, abakan, abalone, abamp, abampere, abandon, abandon hope, all ye who enter here, abandoned

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 abalones

From there it was only a stone's throw to the beach where the mussels and abalones clung so thickly to the rocks.
El Diablo|Brayton Norton
God willing, we shall eat Carmel mussels and abalones in May or June.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce|Ambrose Bierce
With love to Carrie, I will leave you to your sea-gardens and abalones.
The Letters of Ambrose Bierce|Ambrose Bierce
The abalones are as large as steaks, and a great deal tougher.
In the Footprints of the Padres|Charles Warren Stoddard

The rocks were full of abalones and my bag was soon filling rapidly.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer|J. W. Duffield

British Dictionary definitions for abalones

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