BYSSI

BYSSUS

byssus, beard

(noun) tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Noun

byssi

plural of byssus

Source: Wiktionary


BYSSUS

Bys"sus, n.; pl. E. Byssuses(#); L. Byssi.(#) Etym: [L. byssus fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr.

1. A cloth of exceedingly fine texture, used by the ancients. It is disputed whether it was of cotton, linen, or silk. [Written also byss and byssin.]

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A tuft of long, tough filaments which are formed in a groove of the foot, and issue from between the valves of certain bivalve mollusks, as the Pinna and Mytilus, by which they attach themselves to rocks, etc.

3. (Bot.)

Definition: An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of slender threads.

4. Asbestus.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 February 2025

ANALYSIS

(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ‘the father of the bride’ instead of ‘the bride’s father’


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Decaffeinated coffee comes from a chemical process that takes out caffeine from the beans. Pharmaceutical and soda companies buy the extracted caffeine.

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