Cam·e·o n.; pl. Cameos   A carving in relief, esp. one on a small scale used as a jewel for personal adornment, or like.
 Note: ☞ Most cameos are carved in a material which has layers of different colors, such stones as the onyx and sardonyx, and various kinds of shells, being used.  The classical cameos made in Italy are carved on a seashell (see cameo conch, below), having an olive figure carved from the inner layer of the shell in relief on the white background of the outer layer of the shell.
 Cameo conch Zool., a large, marine, univalve shell, esp. Cassis cameo, Cassis rua, and allied species, used for cutting cameos. See Quern conch.

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 Conch n.
 1. Zool. A name applied to various marine univalve shells; esp. to those of the genus Strombus, which are of large size. Strombus gigas is the large pink West Indian conch.  The large king, queen, and cameo conchs are of the genus Cassis. See Cameo and cameo conch.
 Note: ☞ The conch is sometimes used as a horn or trumpet, as in fogs at sea, or to call laborers from work.
 2. In works of art, the shell used by Tritons as a trumpet.
 3. [often capitalized] One of the white natives of the Bahama Islands or one of their descendants in the Florida Keys; -- so called from the commonness of the conch there, or because they use it for food.
 4. Arch. See Concha, n.
 5. The external ear. See Concha, n., 2.

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