/ˈneɪkə/, /ˈneɪkəɹ/
OriginFrom Middle French nacre, from Medieval Latin nacchara, from Arabic نَقَّارَة (naqqāra). Doublet of nagara. Also present in nacarat.
- countable, obsolete, uncountableA shellfish which contains mother-of-pearl.
“The shell-fish called a Nacre, liveth even so with the Pinnotere, which is a little creature like unto a Crabfish[…].”
- countable, uncountableA pearly substance made mainly of stacked layers of aragonite and organic matter which lines the interior of many shells; mother-of-pearl.
“On a little table of dark perfumed wood thickly encrusted with nacre, […]was lying a note from Lord Henry, and beside it was a book bound in yellow paper, the cover slightly torn and the edges soiled.”
Formsnacres(plural) · naker(alternative, obsolete) · nacker(alternative, obsolete)