mother-of-pearl

[muhth -er-uh v-purl]

See more synonyms for mother-of-pearl on Thesaurus.com

noun

a hard, iridescent substance that forms the inner layer of certain mollusk shells, used for making buttons, beads, etc.; nacre.

adjective

of or having the qualities of mother-of-pearl, as being iridescent or pearly: mother-of-pearl buttons.

Origin of mother-of-pearl

1500–10; compare Italian madreperla, obsolete French mère perle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for mother-of-pearl

Historical Examples

One moment he lay there, glowing like mother-of-pearl, a rare fish, fresh from the sea.
Tales of Fishes
Zane Grey
Once he crossed his eyes at me, meditatively, above the mother-of-pearl rims.
Romance
Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
The slant rays of the sun struck them and turned them mother-of-pearl.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
We saw a number of divers preparing to go off to get pearls, mother-of-pearl, etc.
The Philippine Islands
John Foreman
Without, it had the tints of the mother-of-pearl, while its framework was of silver.
The Angel Children
Charlotte M. Higgins

British Dictionary definitions for mother-of-pearl

mother-of-pearl

noun

a hard iridescent substance, mostly calcium carbonate, that forms the inner layer of the shells of certain molluscs, such as the oyster. It is used to make buttons, inlay furniture, etcAlso called: nacre Related adjective: nacreous

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

mother-of-pearl in Science

mother-of-pearl

The hard, smooth, pearly layer on the inside of certain seashells, such as abalones and certain oysters. It is used to make buttons and jewelry. Also called nacre

mother-of-pearl

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}mother-of-pearl

Examples from the Web for mother-of-pearl

Historical Examples

One moment he lay there, glowing like mother-of-pearl, a rare fish, fresh from the sea.

Once he crossed his eyes at me, meditatively, above the mother-of-pearl rims.

The slant rays of the sun struck them and turned them mother-of-pearl.

We saw a number of divers preparing to go off to get pearls, mother-of-pearl, etc.

Without, it had the tints of the mother-of-pearl, while its framework was of silver.

mother-of-pearl

mother-of-pearl

Origin of mother-of-pearl