abalone

IPA/ˌæb.əˈləʊ.ni/
IPA/ˌæb.əˈloʊ.ni/

abalone — noun

  • abalonesingular
  • abalonesplural

1. a sea animal that people eat as food. It has a flat shell shaped like a human ea

1.nounB1
Definition

a sea animal that people eat as food. It has a flat shell shaped like a human ear, and the inside of the shell shines with rainbow colours.

Example

At the night market, Mei tried grilled abalone and loved its chewy texture.

uncountable (meat as food): 'grilled abalone'

Pieces of abalone shell were used to decorate a wooden jewellery box.

compound noun: 'abalone shell'

Common collocations
  • abalone shell
  • dried abalone
  • fresh abalone
  • grilled abalone
  • abalone diver
  • abalone fishing
Synonyms
  • ormer

    used in British English, especially around the Channel Islands; less common than 'abalone' worldwide

Usage Note

When talking about the meat as food, abalone is usually uncountable (e.g. 'We had abalone for dinner'). When referring to the living animal or individual shells, it is countable (e.g. 'He found three abalones on the reef').

Common Mistakes

I bought a fresh abalone from the fish market' (when referring to the meat).
I bought fresh abalone from the fish market.
As food, abalone is usually uncountable.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Both 'abalone' and 'ormer' refer to the same sea creature, but their use depends on region. 'Abalone' is the common term worldwide, used in everyday English and in the seafood trade. 'Ormer' is mostly limited to British English, particularly in the Channel Islands where the creature is harvested. In other parts of the world, 'ormer' is rarely understood. For example: 'The restaurant serves fresh abalone from New Zealand.' vs. 'Ormer shells are protected by law in Guernsey.'

abalone ↗ormer

Common collocations

Nouns

  • abalone shell
  • abalone meat
  • abalone diver
  • abalone farm

Prepositions

Etymology

Rumsen (Ohlone)American SpanishEnglish

The word 'abalone' came into English through American Spanish from 'abulón', which was taken from the Rumsen language spoken by Native American people in California. The original Rumsen word 'aulón' referred to the creature they gathered from the Pacific coast. The name spread during the 19th century as the shellfish became a traded food item.

First known use

1850

1850, in the meaning defined above