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mollusk

 - 4 dictionary results

mol⋅lusk

  [mol-uhsk]
Use mollusk in a Sentence
–noun
any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a calcareous shell of one, two, or more pieces that wholly or partly enclose the soft, unsegmented body, including the chitons, snails, bivalves, squids, and octopuses.
Also, mollusc.

Origin:
1775–85; < F mollusque < NL Mollusca; see Mollusca

Related forms:
mol⋅lus⋅kan, mol⋅lus⋅can  [muh-luhs-kuhn] , adjective, noun
mol⋅lusk⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mollusk
mol·lusk also mol·lusc   (mŏl'əsk)   
n.  Any of numerous chiefly marine invertebrates of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a soft unsegmented body, a mantle, and a protective calcareous shell and including the edible shellfish and the snails.

[French mollusque, from New Latin Mollusca, phylum name, from neuter pl. of Latin molluscus, thin-shelled, from mollis, soft; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
mol·lus'cous (mə-lŭs'kəs) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mollusk 
1783, from Fr. mollusque, from Mod.L. Mollusca, order name, adopted by Linnæus 1758 from L. mollusca, neut. pl. of molluscus "thin-shelled," from mollis "soft," from PIE base *mel-/*mol-/*ml- "grind." Linnæus applied the word to a heterogeneous group of invertebrates, not originally including mollusks with shells; the modern scientific use is after a classification proposed 1790s by Cuvier.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mol·lusk
Variant: or mol·lusc /'mäl-&sk/
Function: noun
: any invertebrate animal of the phylum Mollusca —mol·lus·can also mol·lus·kan /m&-'les-k&n, mä-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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