Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- 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.
noun
- 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 decorationAlso called: ear shell See also ormer
type of marine shell, 1850, American English, from Spanish abulon from Costanoan (a California coastal Indian language family) aluan “red abalone.”