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prettygoodwordcoquina (koh-KEE-nuh) - n., a small clam (Donax variabilis) abundant in the intertidal zone of eastern and southern U.S. coastal beaches, with fanlike bands of various hues; (geol.) a soft porous limestone made of fragments of marine shells.
For the clam, the paired empty shells often spread in a butterfly shape, thus giving an alternate name, butterfly-shell clam. The colors are pretty, too -- I used to spend hours on the beach, collecting as many shades as I could.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
The name is an Americanism from the 1830s, from Spanish conquina, cockle, diminutive of concha, shell, from Latin concha, bivalve/mollusk/mussel, from Greek kónkhē, mussel/shell.
---L.
For the clam, the paired empty shells often spread in a butterfly shape, thus giving an alternate name, butterfly-shell clam. The colors are pretty, too -- I used to spend hours on the beach, collecting as many shades as I could.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
The name is an Americanism from the 1830s, from Spanish conquina, cockle, diminutive of concha, shell, from Latin concha, bivalve/mollusk/mussel, from Greek kónkhē, mussel/shell.
---L.
