A large sea snail with a single shell lined with shiny mother-of-pearl that's used to make jewelry and buttons.
From Spanish 'abulón,' which came from an indigenous Rumsen language of California. The word traveled from Native Americans to Spanish settlers, then into English.
Abalones create that gorgeous mother-of-pearl coating to protect themselves from irritants—the same process makes natural pearls, and humans have treasured these shells for thousands of years because they shimmer like rainbows underwater.
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