Le récif corallien
Example: Le récif corallien protège les poissons dans la mer.
Definition
"Le récif corallien" refers to a coral reef, which is a diverse underwater ecosystem formed by colonies of tiny coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. These reefs provide habitat and protection for many marine species, playing a crucial role in ocean biodiversity and coastal protection.
Etymology
The term "le récif corallien" comes from French, where "récif" means reef and "corallien" relates to coral. The word "récif" traces back to the Old French 'receif', itself derived from the Latin 'recipere', meaning 'to receive' or 'to hold back', reflecting how reefs break waves. "Corallien" stems from Latin 'corallium', meaning coral, highlighting the biological composition of these structures.
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"Le récif corallien" appears in the Vocaplus list "French - Environment - (A1-C2) - set 1", containing 100 commonly used words.
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