mother-of-pearl
Made from or looking like mother-of-pearlMade from or looking like mother-of-pearl; iridescent or pearly.
/ˌmʌðəɹ əv ˈpɜː(ɹ)l/
Meaning
1 senses(not comparable)Made from or looking like mother-of-pearl; iridescent or pearly.
Origin
Calque of Latin māter perlārum, with the first element perhaps connected in popular imaginCalque of Latin māter perlārum, with the first element perhaps connected in popular imagination with obsolete mother (“dregs”). Possibly referring to the fact that the nacre-lined shells are the belly (“mother”) in which pearls are produced.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedpearlB2
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.