nacre

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French nacre, from Medieval Latin nacchara, ultimately derived from Arabic نَقَّارَة (naqqāra). Doublet of nagara, nagada, and naqareh. Also present in nacarat.

1. A 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[…].”

2. A 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.”