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, ˌmædrɪpəˈrɪtɪk, ˌmædrɪˈpɒrɪk /

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

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

Example Sentences

A vast quantity of small cups and paterae were made by this means in patterns which bear considerable resemblance to the surfaces of madrepores.

From Project Gutenberg

There are beautifully branching trees of madrepores, whose prongs are from one to two feet in length, and sometimes curiously interlaced.

From Project Gutenberg

One need only glance at the photographs of osmotic productions to recognize the forms of madrepore, fungus, alga, and shell.

From Project Gutenberg

In one of the Maldive islands a coral reef, which, within a few years, existed on an islet bearing cocoa-nut trees, was found by Lieutenant Prentice, "entirely covered with live coral and madrepore."

From Project Gutenberg

"The wild —— —— waste their fragrant stores In leafy islands walled with madrepores And lapped in Orient seas, When all their feathery palms toss, plume-like, in the breeze."

From Project Gutenberg