byssus
byssus — noun
1. A fine woven fabric used in the ancient world, believed to have been made from f
A fine woven fabric used in the ancient world, believed to have been made from flax or linen.
The museum kept a scrap of byssus from the time of the pharaohs.
collocation: scrap of byssus
Owen spent years studying how byssus was traded in the ancient world.
Golden byssus from the temple was worth more than silk in Rome.
The priest wore robes of byssus during the great feast each spring.
Andrés found a small piece of byssus at a dig near the old port.
2. A cluster of strong, silky threads that certain shellfish produce and use to fas
A cluster of strong, silky threads that certain shellfish produce and use to fasten themselves to rocks, wood, or other hard surfaces.
The mussel held fast to the pier with a tight bunch of byssus.
collocation: bunch of byssus
Yasmin watched the scallop spin fresh byssus to grip the glass tank.
collocation: spin byssus
A thick tuft of byssus kept the oyster fixed to the wooden post.
Indra studied the byssus of a blue mussel to improve underwater glue.
Nila cut the byssus with care before moving the shellfish to a new rock.
- beard
colloquial term for the byssus of a mussel, used mainly in cooking and seafood preparation
用法筆記
Subject is typically a bivalve mollusk such as a mussel, scallop, or oyster. Distinguished from sense 1 (ANCIENT FABRIC), which refers to a historical textile.