mother-of-pearl, nacre (pearly substance on the interior of shells)
Pronounced as (IPA)
/pɛrlˈmʊt/
Etymology
Shortened from now less common Perlmutter, a calque of Latin māter perlārum. The shortening possibly through reinterpretation of perlmuttern as Perlmutt + -ern instead of Perlmutter + -n.