abalone

UK: /ˌæbəˈləʊni/ US: /ˌæbəˈloʊni/ ,(ab′ə lō′nē)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ab•a•lo•ne /ˌæbəˈloʊni/   n. [countable] , pl. -nes. 

1. Invertebrates a kind of mollusk or shellfish with a flat, oval shell.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ab•a•lo•ne  (ab′ə lō′nē), n. 

1. Invertebrates a large mollusk of the genus Haliotis, having a bowllike shell bearing a row of respiratory holes, the flesh of which is used for food and the shell for ornament and as a source of mother-of-pearl.

• a word in Rumsen, a Costanoan language formerly spoken at Monterey, California
• taken as singular of California Spanish abulones, plural of abulón, aulón 1840–50, American.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

abalone / ˌæbəˈləʊnɪ/ noun

1. any of various edible marine gastropod molluscs of the genus Haliotis, having an ear-shaped shell that is perforated with a row of respiratory holes. The shells are used for ornament or decoration
   Also called: ear shell, haliotis
   See also ormer

Etymology: 19th Century: from American Spanish abulón; origin unknown