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na·cre

(nākər)

See mother-of-pearl.

[French, from Old French nacle, from Old Italian naccaro, drum, nacre, from Arabic naqqāra, small drum, from naqara, to bore, pierce; see nqr in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

nacred (-kərd), nacre·ous (-krē-əs) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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