conch

¹ American  

[kongk, konch] / kɒŋk, kɒntʃ /

noun

plural

conchs, conches

1. the spiral shell of a gastropod, often used as a horn.

2. any of various marine gastropods.

3. the fabled shell trumpet of the Tritons.

4. (often initial capital letter)

   1. a term used to refer to a native or inhabitant of the Florida Keys.

   2. a term used to refer to a Bahamian.

5. Architecture. Also a smooth concave surface consisting of or resembling the interior of a semidome, as the surface of a vault, a trompe, or the head of a niche.

---

conch- ² American  

1. variant of concho- before a vowel.

---

conch British  

/ kɒŋk, kɒntʃ /

noun

1. any of various tropical marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Strombus and related genera, esp S. gigas (giant conch), characterized by a large brightly coloured spiral shell

2. the shell of such a mollusc, used as a trumpet

3. architect another name for concha

---

Sensitive Note

Conch is usually a neutral nickname or term of self-reference for any person living in the Florida Keys or the Bahamas, where conch (the flesh of the gastropod) is a popular food. However, the nickname conch is sometimes used with disparaging intent when specifically referring to a person of Bahamian ancestry living in the Florida Keys. And Loyalists who fled to the Bahamas during the Revolutionary War used the nickname conch to refer disparagingly to a native or early settler of the Bahamas.

Other Word Forms

• conchate adjective
• conched adjective

Etymology

Origin of conch

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin concha < Greek kónchē mussel, shell

Example Sentences

Chipped conch shells and scattered bone whistles point to a musical ambience.

From The Wall Street Journal

Hold a conch shell up to your ear and you can hear the sound of the sea.

From The Wall Street Journal

Signs assembled from vehicle tires line a dusty pedestrian route from the paved road to her gas station — a cleverly suggestive Shell station, apparently, given the chrome conches adorning the pump handles.

From Los Angeles Times

Protesters blew conch shells - the sound is considered auspicious.

From BBC

The race starts any time from midnight to noon on race day, with one hour till race start signalled by blowing a conch.

From BBC

Related Words

• clam
• crawfish
• crustacean
• lobster
• mollusk
• mussel
• oyster
• prawn
• scallop
• shrimp
• snail