| / English Dictionary |
CORAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Marine colonial polyp characterized by a calcareous skeleton; masses in a variety of shapes often forming reefs
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("coral" is a kind of...):
actinozoan; anthozoan (sessile marine coelenterates including solitary and colonial polyps; the medusoid phase is entirely suppressed)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coral"):
gorgonian; gorgonian coral (corals having a horny or calcareous branching skeleton)
madrepore; madriporian coral; stony coral (corals having calcareous skeletons aggregations of which form reefs and islands)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A variable color averaging a deep pink
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("coral" is a kind of...):
pink (a light shade of red)
Derivation:
coral (of a strong pink to yellowish-pink color)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Unfertilized lobster roe; reddens in cooking; used as garnish or to color sauces
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Hypernyms ("coral" is a kind of...):
hard roe; roe (fish eggs or egg-filled ovary; having a grainy texture)
Holonyms ("coral" is a part of...):
lobster (flesh of a lobster)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The hard stony skeleton of a Mediterranean coral that has a delicate red or pink color and is used for jewelry
Synonyms:
coral; precious coral; red coral
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("coral" is a kind of...):
opaque gem (a gemstone that is opaque)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of a strong pink to yellowish-pink color
Classified under:
Similar:
chromatic (being or having or characterized by hue)
Derivation:
coral (a variable color averaging a deep pink)
Context examples:
Anthropogenic carbon dioxide gas released into the atmosphere is also making sea water more acidic, affecting the calcification of coral and invertebrates, and so decreasing the habitat and food of reef-associated fish.
(Pacific island fish migrating to cooler seas, SciDev.Net)
Although one overarching conclusion of ocean acidification studies is that different species respond differently to elevated CO2 conditions, similar results have been reported in studies with different coral reef species.
(Fish larvae lose their way to safety in acidified oceans, SciDev.Net)
A record of climatic events found by examining the natural environment (tree rings, coral growth bands, layers of ice in glaciers).
(Natural climate record, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
The absorption alters the water's chemistry, lowering its pH and reducing the amount of available carbonate, which organisms such as corals and pteropods (mollusks) use to construct their calcium carbonate shells.
(Marine organisms in Southern Ocean will face shallower zone for life, National Science Foundation)
Emerging fungal pathogens pose a greater threat to biodiversity than any other parasitic group, scientists say, causing population declines of amphibians, bats, corals, bees and snakes.
(Amphibians can acquire resistance to deadly fungus, NSF)
An environmental stress indicator for coral; if conditions for corals are not optimum, the corals will expel the algae that live among the living polyps, therefore giving the colony a bleached appearance.
(Coral bleaching, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
The study was conducted at the NSF Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research site, one of 28 NSF LTER sites around the world in ecosystems from grasslands to forests, coral reefs to the open sea.
(Scientists discover new mechanism for how soils store carbon, National Science Foundation)
The pearl necklace and bracelets which I inherited from mama, have been disposed of for less than half their value; and the set of coral, which was the wedding gift of my papa, has been actually thrown away for nothing.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
I wish I hadn't smashed my coral bracelet, for you might have had it, said Jo, who loved to give and lend, but whose possessions were usually too dilapidated to be of much use.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
An environmental remnant of the past (pollen grains, tree rings, lake sediments, pack rat middens, ice cores, coral skeletons) that assist researchers in deciphering past climate conditions through the use of scientifically proven dating techniques.
(Paleoenvironmental proxy, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
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