FromOld Frenchcoral (Frenchcorail), fromLatincorallium, fromAncient Greekκοράλλιον(korállion,“coral”). Probably ultimately ofSemitic origin,^[1] compareHebrewגּוֹרָל(goral,“small pebble”),Arabicجَرَل(jaral,“small stone”), originally referring to the red variety found in the Mediterranean. Since ancient times, a commonfolk etymology, accepted by some earlier scholars, connected the word instead toAncient Greekκόρη(kórē) (referring toMedusa).^[2][3][4] Beekes mentions both theories and considers the Semitic one convincing.^[5]

• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ˈkɒɹəl/

  • Audio(Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American)IPA^(key):/ˈkɔɚɹəl/
  • Homophone:choral

  • Audio(US):

    (file)

• (General Australian)IPA^(key):/ˈkɔɹəl/
• Rhymes:-ɒɹəl,-ɔːɹəl

coral (countable anduncountable,pluralcorals)

1. (countable) Any of many species ofmarineinvertebrates in the classAnthozoa, most of which build hardcalcium carbonateskeletons and formcolonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species.
2. (uncountable) A hard substance made of theskeletons of these organisms.
3. (countable) A somewhatyellowishorange-pinkcolor; the color ofred coral (Corallium rubrum) of the Mediterranean Sea, commonly used as an ornament or gem.

   coral: 

   • 1886 October –1887 January,H[enry] Rider Haggard,She: A History of Adventure, London:Longmans, Green, and Co., published1887,→OCLC:

     Thecoral faded even from her lips, till they were as white as Leo's face, and quivered pitifully.

4. Theovaries of acookedlobster; so called from their color.
5. (historical) A piece of coral, usually fitted with smallbells and otherappurtenances, used by children as aplaything.
   • 1859,Wilkie Collins,The Woman in White‎^[1]:

     On the very chair which I used to occupy when I was at work Marian was sitting now, with the child industriously sucking hiscoral upon her lap.

coral (notcomparable)

1. Made of coral.
2. Having the orange-pink color of coral.

coral (pluralcorals)

1. Obsolete form ofcorral.

coral (third-person singular simple presentcorals,present participlecorallingor(US)coraling,simple past and past participlecoralledor(US)coraled)

1. Obsolete form ofcorral.

•  coral on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• claro,Carol,Clora,Carlo,Alcor,Claro,carol

FromOld Leonesecor, from a derivative ofLatincor with a group suffix-al.Doublet ofcorazu,corazón, andcuer.

coral f (pluralcorales) orcorales

1. heart

   Synonyms:corazu,corazón,cuer

   Lacoral asítiase nel llau esquierdu'l pechu

   Theheart is located on the left side of the chest

Borrowed from Spanishcoral.

coral f (pluralcorales)

1. chorus music
2. chorale

Borrowed from Spanishcoral.

coral m (pluralcorales)

1. coral

• IPA^(key):(Central)[kuˈɾal]
• IPA^(key):(Balearic,Valencia)[koˈɾal]

Fromcor(“heart”) +‎-al.

coral m orf (masculine and feminine pluralcorals)

1. strong,close (relationship)

Fromcor(“choir”) +‎-al.

coral m orf (masculine and feminine pluralcorals)

1. choral

coral m (pluralcorals)

1. chorus music
2. chorale

Borrowed fromLatincorallium, fromAncient Greekκοράλλιον(korállion).

coral m (pluralcorals)

1. coral(organism)

• arbre de coral

• IPA^(key):/koˈɾal/

FromOld Galician-Portuguesecoral, borrowed fromOld Frenchcoral, fromLatincorallium, fromAncient Greekκοράλλιον(korállion).

coral m (pluralcorais)

1. (zoology)coral
   • 1395, Antonio López Ferreiro, editor,Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page160:

     mando a miña Neta Tareija sanches todo o aliofar etcoraes que eu ey et os esmaltes et o meu Reliquario esmaltado et a miña Cunca de plata dourada et as miñas doas de ouro

     I send to my granddaughter Tareixa Sanchez all of my pearls andcorals, and the enamels, and my enamelled relicary and my gilded silver bowl and my beads of gold

2. coral(color)
3. roe(the eggs or ovaries of certain crustaceans)

   Synonym:míllaras

4. sea fan(Eunicella verrucosa)

coro(“choir”) +‎-al.

coral m orf (pluralcorais)

1. choral

coral f (pluralcorais)

1. chorale

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane,María Álvarez de la Granja,Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “coral”, inDicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “coral”, inCorpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “coral”, inDicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández,Ernesto Xosé González Seoane,María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “coral”, inTesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “coral”, inTesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega,→ISSN

Borrowed fromOld Frenchcoral, fromLatincorallium, fromAncient Greekκοράλλιον(korállion).

• IPA^(key):/koˈɾal/

coral m (pluralcorales)

1. coral
   • c.1250,Alfonso X,Lapidario,f. 14v:

     DEl dozeno grado del ſigno de tauro es la piedra aque dizencoral negro.

     Of the twelfth degree of the sign of Taurus is the stone they callblack coral.

• Ladino:koral
• Spanish:coral

• Rhymes:(Portugal)-al,(Brazil)-aw
• Hyphenation:co‧ral

Learned borrowing fromMedieval Latinchorālis. Bysurface analysis,coro +‎-al.

• choral(obsolete)

coral m (pluralcorais)

1. (music)choir(ensemble of people who sing together)

   Synonym:coro

2. (music)choralsong(song written for a choir to perform)
3. (music)chorale(a Lutheran hymn)
4. (figurative) a group of people, creatures or objects making noise together

coral m orf (pluralcorais)

1. (music)choral(relating to choirs)
2. (music)choral(written to be performed by a choir)

FromLate Latincorallum orLatincorallium, fromAncient Greekκοράλλιον(korállion,“coral”), of uncertain origin.

coral m (pluralcorais)

1. coral(any of various species of anthozoans)
2. coral(the skeleton of marine polyps)
3. coral(colony of marine polyps)
4. coral(a yellowish pink color)

coral f (pluralcorais)

1. Ellipsis ofcobra-coral.

coral m orf (pluralcorais)

1. coral in color

   Synonym:coralino

Borrowed fromFrenchchoral.

coral m orn (feminine singularcorală,masculine pluralcorali,feminine and neuter pluralcorale)

1. choral

• IPA^(key):/koˈɾal/[koˈɾal]
• Rhymes:-al
• Syllabification:co‧ral

Inherited fromOld Spanishcoral, fromOld Frenchcoral, fromLatincorallium, fromAncient Greekκοράλλιον(korállion).

coral m (pluralcorales)

1. (zoology)coral
2. (botany)coral vine(Kennedia coccinea)

coral m orf (masculine and feminine pluralcorales)

1. coral(color)

Fromcoro(“choir”) +‎-al.

coral m orf (masculine and feminine pluralcorales)

1. choral

coral m (pluralcorales)

1. chorale

• “coral”, inDiccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8,Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish:Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10