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

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

From The Man Who Laughs by Hugo, Victor

Fixed to a piece of madrepore, this seaweed vegetates at the bottom of the ocean, at the depth of 192 feet, notwithstanding which we found its leaves as green as those of our grasses.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina

Another species of British madrepore, found by Mr. Gosse at Ilfracombe, and by Mr. Kingsley at Lundy Island.

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

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

From Southern Arabia by Bent, Theodore

Aleck continued, gleefully, whilst I drew in line, and my kite slowly descended; "we shall have time for the sailing match, and madrepore hunt, and the caverns—everything!"

From The Story of the White-Rock Cove by Anonymous