coral
noun
[ ˈkɒr(ə)l ]
• a hard stony substance secreted by certain marine coelenterates as an external skeleton, typically forming large reefs in warm seas.
• "a coral reef"
• a sedentary coelenterate of warm and tropical seas, with a calcareous, horny, or soft skeleton. Most corals are colonial and many rely on the presence of green algae in their tissues to obtain energy from sunlight.
• the unfertilized roe of a lobster or scallop, which is used as food and becomes reddish when cooked.
• "we had scallops with their coral, in their fluted shells"
Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin corallum, from Greek korallion, kouralion .