mollusc

British  

/ 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)

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Other Word Forms

• mollusc-like
  adjective
• molluscan
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mollusc

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

Example Sentences

And let us not run away with the idea that these princes of the Mollusc tribe have a monopoly of the scientific curve. 

From The Life of the Spider by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

He frequents the edges of the irrigating ditches, with their cool soil, their varied vegetation, a favourite haunt of the Mollusc.

From The Wonders of Instinct Chapters in the Psychology of Insects by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

The Epeira works on the same principles as the Mollusc of the convoluted shell.

From The Life of the Spider by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

The Mollusc has years wherein to construct its spiral and it uses the utmost finish in the whirling process. 

From The Life of the Spider by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

This muscular layer is very closely connected with the skin itself; it is the same in the Mollusc stem.

From The Evolution of Man — Volume 2 by Haeckel, Ernst Heinrich Philipp August