Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

oystered

[oi-sterd]
See more synonyms for oystered on Thesaurus.com
adjective Furniture.
  1. veneered with matched flitches having a figure of concentric rings.
Show More

Origin of oystered

First recorded in 1910–15; oyster + -ed3

oyster

[oi-ster]
noun
  1. any of several edible, marine, bivalve mollusks of the family Ostreidae, having an irregularly shaped shell, occurring on the bottom or adhering to rocks or other objects in shallow water.
  2. the oyster-shaped bit of dark meat in the front hollow of the side bone of a fowl.
  3. Slang. a closemouthed or uncommunicative person, especially one who keeps secrets well.
  4. something from which a person may extract or derive advantage: The world is my oyster.
  5. oyster white.
Show More
verb (used without object)
  1. to dredge for or otherwise take oysters.
Show More

Origin of oyster

1325–75; Middle English oistre < Middle French < Latin ostrea < Greek óstreon; see ostracize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for oystered

oyster

noun
    1. any edible marine bivalve mollusc of the genus Ostrea, having a rough irregularly shaped shell and occurring on the sea bed, mostly in coastal waters
    2. (as modifier)oyster farm; oyster knife
  2. any of various similar and related molluscs, such as the pearl oyster and the saddle oyster (Anomia ephippium)
  3. the oyster-shaped piece of dark meat in the hollow of the pelvic bone of a fowl
  4. something from which advantage, delight, profit, etc, may be derivedthe world is his oyster
  5. informal a very uncommunicative person
Show More
verb
  1. (intr) to dredge for, gather, or raise oysters
Show More

Word Origin

C14 oistre, from Old French uistre, from Latin ostrea, from Greek ostreon; related to Greek osteon bone, ostrakon shell
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for oystered

oyster

n.

early 14c., from Old French oistre (Modern French huître), from Latin ostrea, plural or fem. of ostreum "oyster," from Greek ostreon, from PIE *ost- "bone" (see osseous). Related to Greek ostrakon "hard shell" and to osteon "bone."

Why then the world's mine Oyster, which I, with sword will open. [Shakespeare, "The Merry Wives of Windsor," II.ii.2]
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with oystered

oyster

see world is one's oyster.

Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.