Coquina
/koʊˈkiːnə/noun
A soft limestone composed mainly of broken shell fragments, often used as a building stone.
Did you know?The word comes from Spanish coquina, meaning “little shell,” from Latin concha, and the stone itself is basically compressed marine death turned into architecture.
Etymological Timeline
Late 16th Century
Spanish
coquina
“little shell; shellfish”
Classical Latin
Latin
concha
“shell; mussel; cockle”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kónkhē
“shell; mussel shell”
Modern English
English
coquina
“a shell-fragment limestone used as building stone”