madrepore

American  

[mad-ruh-pawr, -pohr] / ˈmæd rəˌpɔr, -ˌpoʊr /

noun

1. any true or stony coral of the order Madreporaria, forming reefs or islands in tropical seas.

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madrepore British  

/ ˌmædrɪˈpɔː /

noun

1. any coral of the genus Madrepora, many of which occur in tropical seas and form large coral reefs: order Zoantharia

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Other Word Forms

• madreporal
  adjective
• madreporian
  adjective
• madreporic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of madrepore

1745–55; < French madrépore reef-building coral < Italian madrepora, equivalent to madre mother (< Latin māter ) + -pora, for poro < Greek pôros kind of stone

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

madrepore

By way of strange contrast in values the pearls were separated from each other by worthless, little, smooth lumps of madrepore, or unfossilized coral.

From The Flying Legion by George Allan England

The madrepore pier had been nearly swept away, and the houses near the water were flooded.

From Southern Arabia by Theodore Bent

Quaint madrepore inlaying every palace, from Versailles downwards, like cells of pygmies in dwelling-places of Titans.

From The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo

All around is a sea of mounds covered with sand, where the houses stood, mostly built of madrepore, and laid out in streets.

From Southern Arabia by Theodore Bent

You have a beautiful madrepore or brain-stone on your mantel-piece, brought home from some Pacific coral-reef.

From Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore by Charles Kingsley

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