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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Byssi

Byssus \Bys"sus\, n.; pl. E. Byssuses; L. Byssi.[L. byssus fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr. by`ssos .]

  1. A cloth of exceedingly fine texture, used by the ancients. It is disputed whether it was of cotton, linen, or silk.

  2. (Zo["o]l.) A tuft of long, tough filaments which are formed in a groove of the foot, and issue from between the valves of certain bivalve mollusks, as the Pinna and Mytilus, by which they attach themselves to rocks, etc.

  3. (Bot.) An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of slender threads.

  4. Asbestus.

WordNet
byssi

See byssus

byssus
  1. n. tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface [syn: beard]

  2. [also: byssi (pl)]

Usage examples of "byssi".

Charles used his knife and Kenton borrowed his hatchet to sever the byssi by which the shellfish moored themselves.