mollusc

/ mɒˈlʌskən; ˈmɒləsk /

noun

1. any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, having a soft unsegmented body and often a shell, secreted by a fold of skin (the mantle). The group includes the gastropods (snails, slugs, etc), bivalves (clams, mussels, etc), and cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopuses, etc)

Derived Forms

• molluscan, adjectivenoun
• ˈmollusc-ˌlike, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mollusc¹

C18: via New Latin from Latin molluscus, from mollis soft

Example Sentences

They were as two horns which the sluggish heath had put forth from its crown, like a mollusc, and had now again drawn in.

From Project Gutenberg

Some of these holes are the empty burrows of a boring mollusc, while others still contain the living animal in situ.

From Project Gutenberg

The mollusc Cyrena fluminalis, indicative of a sub-tropical climate, has been found in these strata.

From Project Gutenberg

Radula, rad′ū-la, n. the tongue or lingual ribbon of a mollusc.

From Project Gutenberg

The bent form of the embryonic heart recalls the heart of spiders; it lies at first free, as in the mollusc Anomia.

From Project Gutenberg