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Tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface
Answer for the clue "Tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface ", 6 letters:
byssus
Word definitions for byssus in dictionaries
Wiktionary
Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 An exceptionally fine and valuable fibre or cloth of ancient times. Originally used for fine flax and linens, its use was later extended to fine cottons, silks, and sea silk. 2 The long fine silky filaments excreted by several mollusks (particularly ...
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
A byssus is a bundle of filaments secreted by many species of bivalve mollusc, that function to attach the mollusc to a solid surface. Species from several families of clams have a byssus, including the pen shells, the true mussels and the false mussels: ...
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Byssus \Bys"sus\, n.; pl. E. Byssuses ; L. Byssi .[L. byssus fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr. by`ssos .] A cloth of exceedingly fine texture, used by the ancients. It is disputed whether it was of cotton, linen, or silk. (Zo["o]l.) A tuft of long, tough ...
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface [syn: beard ] [also: byssi (pl)]
Usage examples of byssus.
When he reached home, his people held a great celebration in his honor and brought him many gifts, the loot of the cities he had burned and the ships he had captured, one bringing a rich armor, another a necklace of gold and hyacinth, a third a cloak of byssus, and so on.
They were held by the wax and exuded byssus of the home-grubs, colossal maggoting larvae that the khepri used to reshape their dwellings.
What seemed to be cloth of gold was actually a costly fabric woven from the byssus threads of Franconian mollusks, famed throughout the galaxy for beauty and toughness.
Blade was reminded of the byssus shell, which provided a similar luxury fabric for the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean.
Working easily, economically, he dug them from sand or broke the byssus threads that anchored them to rock.
He did not carry away more than ten at each plunge, for he was obliged to pull them from the bank to which they adhered by means of their strong byssus.
He was clad as a chieftain might be clad: feathers in hair, heavy gold armbands, a vest of richest byssus — reaved, no doubt, from a northern city — and a staff in one hand, a staff adorned with the mummified heads of small animals.