Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A protein substance that is the organic basis of mollusk shells.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The organic residuum of a shell left after removal of the carbonate of lime by acids. Also
conchyolin .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun biochemistry Any of a group of
proteins which, together withpolysaccharides andcalcium carbonate , makes up theshells ofmolluscs
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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In the normal shell this is all that takes place, but in the case of a mollusc whose interior is invaded by any small source of irritation, such as a borer, or a grain of sand, or other bit of foreign material, a process of alternate deposit of conchiolin and of aragonite goes on upon the invading matter, thus forming a pearl.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade
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This is deposited by the mollusc in very thin crystalline layers in the horny layers of conchiolin, so that the lining of the shell is built of approximately parallel layers of mineral and of animal substance.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade
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In the first place, it should be understood that both conchiolin and aragonite are translucent, that is, they pass light to a certain extent.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade
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Pearls are composed partly of the mineral substance calcium carbonate (chemically the same as marble) and partly of a tough, horny substance of organic nature called conchiolin.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public Frank Bertram Wade
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Interestingly, not all "pearls" are made of nacre, that combination of aragonite (calcium carbonate and conchiolin that is secreted from a mollusk and layered together to form what gemologists call a "nacreous" pearl.
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