madrepore Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun corals having calcareous skeletons aggregations of which form reefs and islands
    stony coral; madriporian coral.

WordNet

Mad"re*pore noun
Etymology
F. madrepore, perh. fr. madré spotted, fr. OF. madre, mazre, a kind of knotty wood with brown spots, fr. OHG. masar a knot, grain, or vein in wood, a speck, G. maser + pore (see Pore); or perh. F. madrépore is rather from It. madrepora, and this perh. fr. It. madre mother (see Mother) + Gr. a soft stone.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) Any coral of the genus Madrepora; formerly, often applied to any stony coral.

Webster 1913