mother-of-pearl

Betekenis (Engels)

Uitgespreek as (IPA)
/ˌmʌðəɹ əv ˈpɜː(ɹ)l/
Etimologie (Engels)

Calque of Latin māter perlārum, with the first element perhaps connected in popular imagination with obsolete mother (“dregs”). Possibly referring to the fact that the nacre-lined shells are the belly (“mother”) in which pearls are produced.

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