n. Chiefly British A European abalone (Haliotis tuberculata) found chiefly in the Channel Islands. [French dialectal, from French ormier, short for oreille-de-mer, translation of Latin auris maris, sea-ear : auris, ear; see ous- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + maris, genitive of mare, sea; see mori- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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