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byssus

[ bis-uhs ]

noun

, plural bys·sus·es, bys·si [bis, -ahy].
  1. Zoology. a collection of silky filaments by which certain mollusks attach themselves to rocks.
  2. an ancient cloth, thought to be of linen, cotton, or silk.


byssus

/ ˈbɪsəs /

noun

  1. a mass of strong threads secreted by a sea mussel or similar mollusc that attaches the animal to a hard fixed surface
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Other Words From

  • bys·sa·ceous [bih-, sey, -sh, uh, s], byssoid adjective
  • byssal adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of byssus1

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek býssos a fine cotton or linen < Semitic; compare Hebrew būts
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Word History and Origins

Origin of byssus1

C17: from Latin, from Greek bussos linen, flax, ultimately of Egyptian origin
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Example Sentences

Clean your mussels just before you are ready to cook, because once you yank off that byssus, the mussel may die, and you want to cook them while they are alive.

The Serica347 also are of a similar kind, and are made of dry byssus, which is obtained from some sort of bark of plants.

The meaning of the word Byssus has been disputed; some authorities asserting that it includes both flax and cotton fabrics.

The foot is usually provided with a byssus by which the animal fixes itself to a little projection on the side of its burrow.

The mantle of the animal is open, and the margins of the lobes fringed; and the small foot spins a powerful byssus.

The mummy lay on a mattress of striped byssus, the head on a byssus pillow.

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