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byssus

American  
[bis-uhs] / ˈbɪs əs /

noun

plural

byssuses, byssi

  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 British  
/ 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

Other Word Forms

  • byssaceous adjective
  • byssal adjective
  • byssoid adjective

Etymology

Origin of byssus

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.