Link Centre Dictionary

byssus

bys·sus

UK/ˈbɪsəs/ uncommon

noun

1.

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

Synonyms

Origin

From Latin byssus, from Ancient Greek βύσσος (bússos, “flax; flax cotton”), from a Semitic source cognate to Hebrew בּוּץ (būṣ, “byssus”) and Aramaic בּוּצָא (būṣā, “byssus”)

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.