precious coral

American  

noun

1. red coral.

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precious coral British  

noun

1. another name for red coral

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Etymology

Origin of precious coral

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

The reef-builders are leisurely architects, but the precious coral is formed so rapidly that the beds may be refished advantageously as often as once in ten years.

From The Earth as Modified by Human Action by Marsh, George P.

The precious coral is found widespread on the borders and around the islands of the Mediterranean Sea.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various

Madrepores, which one must guard against confusing with precious coral, clothe their tissue in a limestone crust, and their variations in structure have led my famous mentor Professor Milne–Edwards to classify them into five divisions.

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Walter, F. P.

It's in this last that precious coral belongs, an unusual substance that, at different times, has been classified in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms.

From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Walter, F. P.