mother-of-pearl

Calque of Latin māter perlārum, with the first element perhaps connected in popular imagination with obsolete mother (“dregs”).[1] Possibly referring to the fact that the nacre-lined shells are the belly (“mother”) in which pearls are produced.

• IPA^(key): /ˌmʌðəɹ əv ˈpɜː(ɹ)l/

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mother-of-pearl (countable and uncountable, plural mother-of-pearls)

1. The hard pearly inner layer of certain mollusk shells; nacre.
   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Another London Life”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 170:

     Ah, those Indian warehouses made the morning pass in a charming manner! many a soft confession was whispered over a huge china jar; many a heart has succumbed to a suite of mother-of-pearl card-box and counters; and as to the shawls, why, the whole feminine world has long ago acknowledged them to be irresistible.

2. A butterfly of the genus Salamis.

• mother of pearl

• nacre

mother-of-pearl (not comparable)

1. Made from or looking like mother-of-pearl; iridescent or pearly.

• pearl

• “mother-of-pearl”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “mother-of-pearl”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "mother-of-pearl" in On-line Medical Dictionary, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1997–2005.
• "mother-of-pearl" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.