byssus
Pronunciation: /ˈbɪsəs/
The English word “byssus” has 3 meanings listed here.
noun
- The long fine silky filaments excreted by several mollusks (particularly Pinna nobilis) by which they attach themselves to the sea bed, and from which sea silk is manufactured.
- Sea silk manufactured from these filaments.
- The stipe or stem of some fungi which are particularly thin and thread-like.
Etymology
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”)
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.