Coralline

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Resembling or containing coral, or relating to organisms and algae that form hard calcareous structures similar to coral in marine environments
2. Relating to or composed of hard, calcium-based marine organisms and algae that build rigid skeletal structures in ocean habitats
3. Of or pertaining to creatures and plants that create stony deposits and form reef-like formations in saltwater environments

Etymology: The Greek word "korallion" is probably of Semitic origin, and it passed through Latin "corallium" to become the name of the hard, branching sea structure we call coral. "Coralline" came into English from French "corallin", which itself came from Latin "corallinus", meaning "of coral" or "coral-like." The suffix "-ine" is the familiar adjective ending, so the word means literally "coral-like." The adjective's most notable twist is in science. Naturalists borrowed the term for a group of red seaweeds, genus "Corallina", whose stiff fronds are heavily impregnated with calcium carbonate and look like miniature coral. Those seaweeds gave their name to the sense now given in the definition, which is why the word covers plants as well as animals. Coralline algae, which build reefs and crusts across the world's oceans, have been named for their resemblance to the animal material ever since.