'Coral' comes from Greek 'korallion' — probably Semitic in origin, prized as a gem since antiquity.
A hard stony substance secreted by certain marine organisms as an external skeleton, typically forming large reefs; also, the pinkish-red color of precious coral used in jewelry.
From Middle English 'coral,' from Old French 'coral,' from Latin 'corallium,' from Greek 'korállion' (κοράλλιον). The ultimate origin of the Greek word is uncertain. It may be of Semitic origin — Hebrew 'gōrāl' (גּוֹרָל, small stone, pebble, used for casting lots) has been proposed. Others
Until the eighteenth century, coral was classified as a plant — a 'stone plant' or 'lithophyte.' It was the French physician Jean-André Peyssonnel who demonstrated in 1723 that coral was produced by animals, not plants. His findings were initially ridiculed by the scientific establishment. In Roman times