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byssus

[bis-uhs]

noun, plural bys·sus·es, bys·si

[bis-ahy] .

Zoology. a collection of silky filaments by which certain mollusks attach themselves to rocks.

an ancient cloth, thought to be of linen, cotton, or silk.

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

Related forms

bys·sa·ceous

[bih-sey-shuhs] , bys·soid, adjective

bys·sal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Byssus is always a great word to know.

So is amphibian. Does it mean:

major grouping of small-to-microscopic pseudocoelomate organisms

cold-blooded vertebrate comprised of frogs and toads, newts and salamanders and caecilians

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Collins

World English Dictionary

byssus (ˈbɪsəs)

—n , pl byssuses, byssi
	a mass of strong threads secreted by a sea mussel or similar mollusc that attaches the animal to a hard fixed surface

[C17: from Latin, from Greek bussos linen, flax, ultimately of Egyptian origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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