Meanings
plural nacres · alternative obsolete naker · alternative obsolete nacker · alternative obsolete nakir · alternative obsolete nackir
- countableobsoleteuncountableA shellfish which contains mother-of-pearl.First known use 16th–19th c.
The shell-fish called a Nacre, liveth even so with the Pinnotere, which is a little creature like unto a Crabfish[…].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC - countableuncountableA pearly substance made mainly of stacked layers of aragonite and organic matter which lines the interior of many shells; mother-of-pearl.First known use 17th c.
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.
1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Arabicنَقَّارَة
- Medieval Latinnacchara
- Middle Frenchnacre
- Englishnacre
Borrowed from Middle French nacre, from Medieval Latin nacchara, ultimately derived from Arabic نَقَّارَة (naqqāra). Doublet of nagara, nagada, naqareh, and naker. Also present in nacarat.
More words from Middle French, Medieval Latin, Arabic
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nacre
Anagrams
Cite this entry
nacre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nacre
“nacre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nacre. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nacre,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nacre.
Source: nacre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.