coral

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɒɹəl/ (UK); /ˈkɔɹəl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English coral, borrowed from Old French coral (modern corail),^[2][3][4] from Latin corallium (also corallum),^[2][3][5] from Ancient Greek κοράλλιον (korállion) (also kourálion),^[2][3][4] perhaps of Semitic origin; compare Biblical Hebrew גּוֹרָל (gōrāl, “lot; originally a small stone for casting lots”).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The hard skeleton secreted by certain marine polyps: about 1300 in Etymonline, before 1300 in Barnhart, about 1305 in the OED,^[3][2][6] at first especially the red coral of the Mediterranean, used as an ornament.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The red colour of coral is from the mid-15th century, as is the adjective, made of coral.^[3] Other kinds were later named from their colour, as white coral.^[6] A coral toy given to babies to help them teethe is from 1613.^[6] Coral reef is attested from 1745, and the coral snake, named for its red bands, from 1760.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1305 – coral.^[6]
• mid-15th century – the colour coral.^[3]
• 1613 – a teething coral.^[6]
• 1745 – coral reef.^[3]
• 1760 – coral snake.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A hard stony substance formed from the skeletons of tiny sea animals, building up into reefs in warm seas.
2. Any of the marine polyps that produce it.
3. A pinkish-red or reddish-orange colour.

Adjective

1. Of a deep pink to reddish-orange colour.

Word family

• coralloid
• corallike
• coralliferous
• coralline
• corallite
• coral fungus
• coral plant

Related words

• reef

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press