mussel
Americannoun
noun
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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,
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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
Usage
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."
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mussel
before 1000; Middle English, Old English muscle < Vulgar Latin *mūscula, variant of Latin mūsculus little mouse, sea mussel. See muscle
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.
Mussel larvae attach for weeks to darters, where they absorb vital nutrients to develop.
From National Geographic • Dec. 12, 2023
The waterway, called Mussel Slough, is a fragment of the natural channels that once fed the lake, a vestige of the ecosystem that was transformed into canals and farmland.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2023
The raft tethered to the barge at Newell’s Pemaquid Mussel Farms is one of these remarkable contraptions, and it makes growing mussels in Maine far more viable.
From Scientific American • May 7, 2022
Soon after that, I began to hear whisperings—whether at the Mussel Beach gym or traditional “high tea” gatherings by the pool at the Boatslip Resort—of a “gay cough” circulating among some out-of-towners.
From Slate • Aug. 2, 2021
Mrs. Mussel had been doing her regular Sister Anne act at the window and had "seen it all," she assured me ...
From Jane Journeys On by Mitchell, Ruth Comfort
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.
