coquina

[ koh-kee-nuh ]

/ koʊˈki nə /

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noun

Also called pompano, butterfly-shell clam. a small clam, Donax variabilis, abundant in the intertidal zone of eastern and southern U.S. coastal beaches, having fanlike bands of various hues, the paired empty shells often spread in a butterfly shape.

any similar clam, especially of the genus Donax.

a soft, whitish rock made up of fragments of marine shells and coral, used as a building material.

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Origin of coquina

1830–40, Americanism;<Spanish: literally, shellfish, equivalent to Old Spanish coc(a) shellfish (<Latin concha;see conch) + -ina-ine¹

Words nearby coquina

coquillage, coquilla nut, coquille, coquilles St. Jacques, coquimbite, coquina, coquito, cor, Cora, coraciiform, coracle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use coquina in a sentence

Their new coquina convent is pleasant, and the display of fine laces, made by their busy fingers, incomparable.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine
The walls are built of coquina of no modern thickness, but as if designed to resist a siege.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine
The Presbyterian church is a good, old-fashioned, well-preserved specimen of coquina walls.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine
In the middle of it stood a small fort, cunningly constructed of big blocks of coquina rock.
The Boy Chums in the Florida Jungle|Wilmer M. Ely

Presently he walked to the edge of the coquina quarry and looked down into it.
Quick Action|Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for coquina

coquina

/ (kɒˈkiːnə) /

noun

a soft limestone consisting of shells, corals, etc, that occurs in parts of the US

Word Origin for coquina

C19: from Spanish: shellfish, probably from concha shell, conch

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

Scientific definitions for coquina

coquina

[ kō-kē′nə ]

A soft porous limestone, composed of shells and fragments of shell and coral that are partially cemented by material that is high in calcium carbonate and has not completely hardened.