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Some time ago, I received the following email about the origin of the term "abalone". It may or may not be accurate but it does add an interesting bit of lore. Thanks to Manuel for having the interest and taking the time to pass this along.
Hello:
My name is Manuel. I am a Spaniard who loves abalone and abalone diving in California.
First of all, congratulations on your Website.
I would like to make a couple of comments on the origin of the word "abalone".
The term is a corruption of the Spanish word "abulón". The Spaniards who came to America were familiar with the european species, a similar but much smaller mollusk which they called "oreja de mar". The word "abulón" designates in american Spanish the much larger american species. The origin of the word "abulón" itself is more unclear, but it might be a corruption of an indian word, although I was unable to find out from what indian language it was taken.
Many other English words have similar origin, like "barbecue", from the Spanish "barbacoa", from the Taíno "barbacoa" ( a smoking grill made out of sticks) and "jerky", from the Spanish "charque" from the Quetchua "charki" (dried meat).
I hope this comments will be helpful in order to complete your already very thorough page.
Thank you and congratulations again on your excellent ab page.
Sincerely, Manuel
P.S: I just came back from a great abalone diving weekend in Mendocino. Guess what's for dinner tonight.
Last Modified: April 27, 1999
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