[mad-ruh-pawr, -pohr] 
| any true or stony coral of the order Madreporaria, forming reefs or islands in tropical seas. |
[mad-ruh-pawr-ik, -por-] , mad⋅re⋅po⋅ri⋅an [mad-ruh-pawr-ee-uhn, -pohr-] , adjective | mad·re·pore (mād'rə-pôr', -pōr') n. Any of various stony corals of the order Madreporaria, which includes the reef builders of tropical seas. [Italian madrepora : madre, mother (from Latin māter, mātr-; see māter- in Indo-European roots) + -pora (alteration of poro, tufa, pore, from Late Latin porus, passageway; see pore2, or from Latin pōrus, calcareous stone, stalactite, from Greek pōros).] mad're·po'ri·an adj., mad're·por'ic adj. |