oystering
- veneering of furniture with matched flitches having a figure of concentric rings.
- flitches used on an oystered piece.
Origin of oystering
oyster
- 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.
- the oyster-shaped bit of dark meat in the front hollow of the side bone of a fowl.
- Slang. a closemouthed or uncommunicative person, especially one who keeps secrets well.
- something from which a person may extract or derive advantage: The world is my oyster.
- oyster white.
- to dredge for or otherwise take oysters.
Origin of oyster
Examples from the Web for oystering
Historical Examples of oystering
It makes no difference to him at what hour he returns,—from oystering or from the cranberry-bog.
By The SeaHeman White Chaplin
In order to meet this demand he commonly resorted to oystering.
The Underground RailroadWilliam Still
Dredging is a much faster and less laborious method of oystering than tonging, and can be carried on over a much larger territory.
A Report upon the Mollusk Fisheries of MassachusettsCommissioners on Fisheries and Game
It was the most popular boat used in the colony for collecting corn from the Indians, fishing, oystering, and exploring.
Some Notes on Shipbuilding and Shipping in Colonial VirginiaCerinda W. Evans
There are few negro families of which some member does not spend part of the year fishing or oystering.
The Negro FarmerCarl Kelsey
oyster
- 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
- (as modifier)oyster farm; oyster knife
- any of various similar and related molluscs, such as the pearl oyster and the saddle oyster (Anomia ephippium)
- the oyster-shaped piece of dark meat in the hollow of the pelvic bone of a fowl
- something from which advantage, delight, profit, etc, may be derivedthe world is his oyster
- informal a very uncommunicative person
- (intr) to dredge for, gather, or raise oysters
Word Origin for oyster
Word Origin and History for oystering
oyster
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]
Idioms and Phrases with oystering
oyster
see world is one's oyster.