A diverse underwater ecosystem built by colonies of tiny marine animals called corals, which secrete calcium carbonate to form hard, rock-like structures. These reefs support an enormous variety of marine life in warm, shallow tropical waters.
Coral comes from Latin 'corallum,' borrowed from Greek 'korallion,' possibly from a Semitic language. Reef derives from Old Norse 'rif' meaning 'ridge of rock.' The compound term emerged as Europeans explored tropical seas in the 16th-17th centuries.
Coral reefs are sometimes called the 'rainforests of the sea' because they support about 25% of all marine species despite covering less than 1% of the ocean floor! The Great Barrier Reef is so large it can be seen from space and is actually composed of nearly 3,000 individual reefs.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.