Corals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Marine organisms that form colonies and build reefs through calcium carbonate secretion
2. Aquatic invertebrates belonging to the Cnidaria phylum, known for constructing diverse ecosystems in ocean environments
3. Sea-dwelling creatures that live in groups and create hard, stony structures under the water

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "corals" is that the word for the animals is older than any sense of the substance, and its roots may lie in a Semitic word for a small pebble. Ancient Greeks called the red stone "korallion," and the Mediterranean variety, prized for jewelry, was the original referent. Scholars have also long proposed a folk etymology linking it to "korē," meaning "maiden," with a myth about Medusa's blood turning the sea growths to stone, but the Semitic origin is considered the more convincing account. The word passed into Latin as "corallium," then into Old French as "coral," and finally into English. The plural "corals" is simply that noun counted: the stony skeletons of many colonies, each one built by tiny animals living in groups.

Synonyms: marine life, reef