abalone

[ab-uh-loh-nee]

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for abalones

mollusk, ear, ormer

Examples from the Web for abalones

Historical Examples of abalones

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

British Dictionary definitions for abalones

abalone

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 abalones

abalone

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