coral
pronunciation
How to pronounce coral in British English:
UK 
How to pronounce coral in American English:
US
Word Origin
- coral
- coral: [14] Coral may ultimately be of Semitic origin (Hebrew gōrāl ‘pebble’ has been compared), but the first record we have of it is as Greek korállion, which came to English via Latin corallum or corallium and Old French coral. Until the 17th century, the word was applied exclusively to the red coral (Corallium nobile); hence its use, since the early 16th century, for a ‘rich red colour’.
- coral (n.)
- c. 1300, from Old French coral (12c., Modern French corail), from Latin corallium, from Greek korallion; perhaps of Semitic origin (compare Hebrew goral "small pebble," Arabic garal "small stone"), originally just the red variety found in the Mediterranean, hence use of the word as a symbol of "red." Related: Coralline. Coral snake (1760) is so called for the red zones in its markings. Coral reef is attested from 1745.
Example
- 1. Coral reefs are now being destroyed at a staggering rate .
- 2. Others have created skin-tissue cultures that glow colourfully under ultraviolet light by splicing in a gene from a species of coral .
- 3. It 's the algae that give coral reefs their brilliant colors .
- 4. Since 2010 she has visited 72 coral reefs in east africa .
- 5. Nearby coral gables is a similar story .