nacre
UK /ˈneɪkə/ · US /ˈneɪkəɹ/ noun, adjective
Forms nacres naker nacker nakir nackir
- noun (obsolete) A shellfish which contains mother-of-pearl.
- noun A pearly substance made mainly of stacked layers of aragonite and organic matter which lines the interior of many shells; mother-of-pearl.
- adjective (art) Having an iridescence like that of nacre, or mother-of-pearl.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French nacre, from Medieval Latin nacchara, ultimately derived from Arabic نَقَّارَة (naqqāra). Doublet of nagara, nagada, naqareh, and naker. Also present in nacarat.
French
Webster’s 1913
- noun A pearly substance which lines the interior of many shells, and is most perfect in the mother-of-pearl. [Written also nacker and naker.] See Pearl, and Mother-of-pearl.
Etymology [F., cf. Sp. nácara, nácar, It. nacchera, naccaro, LL. nacara, nacrum; of Oriental origin, cf. Ar. nakir hollowed.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nacre”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details