byssus
Americannoun
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Zoology. a collection of silky filaments by which certain mollusks attach themselves to rocks.
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an ancient cloth, thought to be of linen, cotton, or silk.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of byssus
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek býssos a fine cotton or linen < Semitic; compare Hebrew būts
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The byssus fibers of pen shells have traditionally been discarded as waste.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026
The researchers discovered that the byssus from Atrina pectinata closely matches the physical and chemical properties of the original sea silk fibers.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2026
The fiber comes from byssus threads produced by Pinna nobilis, a large Mediterranean clam that uses these threads to attach itself to rocks.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2026
Then comes the slightly tedious task, which is pulling off the byssus, or beard, a small length of what looks like black threads twisted together.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 29, 2020
And to meet them he put on bright and gorgeous garments, that glittered with yellow gold—and—scarlet byssus.
From Famous Modern Ghost Stories by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
Eventually the larvae find a surface to their liking and settle down, mooring themselves with sticky, hairlike threads called byssuses.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
