staghorn

[stag-hawrn]

noun

1. a piece of a stag's antler, especially when used to form objects, decorations, or the like.

2. staghorn coral.

adjective

1. made of or decorated with staghorn.

   a knife with a staghorn handle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of staghorn¹

First recorded in 1655–65; stag + horn

Example Sentences

In the Atlantic, off the Florida coast and in the Caribbean, about 99.7% of the coral reefs have been hit with “very very severe” losses in staghorn and elkhorn species, Manzello said Thursday in NOAA’s monthly climate briefing.

Read more on Seattle Times

Staghorn coral spotted on a Teriaroa Society tour.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They carefully scraped away harmful algae and predators impinging on staghorn fragments, under the supervision and training of interns from Islamorada Conservation and Restoration Education, or I.CARE.

Read more on Scientific American

Their mission now was to collect hundreds of fragments of staghorn and elkhorn for NOAA’s gene bank, plus any other species they had time to collect.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A handful of the elkhorn and staghorn did not survive the journey.

Read more on Los Angeles Times