mussel

[muhs-uhl]

noun

1. any bivalve mollusk, especially an edible marine bivalve of the family Mytilidae and a freshwater clam of the family Unionidae.

mussel

/ ˈmʌsəl /

noun

1. any of various marine bivalves of the genus Mytilus and related genera, esp M. edulis ( edible mussel ), having a dark slightly elongated shell and living attached to rocks, etc,

2. any of various freshwater bivalves of the genera Anodonta, Unio, etc, attached to rocks, sand, etc having a flattened oval shell (a source of mother-of-pearl). The zebra mussel , Dreissena polymorpha, can be a serious nuisance in water mains

Word History and Origins

Origin of mussel¹

before 1000; Middle English, Old English muscle < Vulgar Latin *mūscula, variant of Latin mūsculus little mouse, sea mussel. See muscle

Word History and Origins

Origin of mussel¹

Old English muscle, from Vulgar Latin muscula (unattested), from Latin musculus, diminutive of mūs mouse

Example Sentences

All three rivers are protected for their importance to rare wildlife, including otters, freshwater pearl mussels and the Atlantic salmon.

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Scrubbing pots and pans, scraping plates and peeling mountains of potatoes, tearing the little beards off mussels, picking scallops and cleaning shrimp did not sound or look attractive to me.

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The deal also benefits shellfish producers after the EU banned British fishermen from selling live mussels, oysters, clams, cockles and scallops to its member states in 2021.

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California public health officials have announced a quarantine on mussels that aren’t commercially harvested, cautioning that naturally occurring toxins make the species potentially poisonous to humans this time of year.

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During maintenance, workers roll through on a tractor equipped with a frame bearing metal bristles that scrape the tunnel walls, cleaning off algae and any growth of invasive mussels.

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Related Words

• clam 
• conch 
• crawfish 
• crustacean 
• lobster 
• mollusk 
• oyster 
• prawn 
• scallop 
• shrimp 
• snail 

When To Use

Where does mussel come from?

Take a quick gander at your muscles. Do you think they look anything like ... mice? And do you think mice resemble  mussels, as in the edible mollusk? This may sound odd to you, but to the ancient Romans, it would have made perfect sense.This is because both the words muscle and mussel come from musculus, which literally means "little mouse" (mus means and is related to "mouse").As far as we can tell, the ancient Romans thought that the movement of a muscle, especially when flexing, looked like a mouse was running under your skin. If you don’t know how muscles work, it sounds as reasonable a guess as any.Now to the mollusk: the ancient Romans apparently also thought that mussels, the shellfish, looked like little mice. The word mussels also comes from that same Latin noun as muscle: musculus.The roots of these other words may get a rise—of laughter or surprise—out of you. Run on over to our roundup of them at "Weird Word Origins That Will Make Your Family Laugh."