Byssuses

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Byssus \Bys"sus\, n.; pl. E. {Byssuses}; L. {Byssi}.[L. byssus
     fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr. by`ssos .]
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     1. A cloth of exceedingly fine texture, used by the ancients.
        It is disputed whether it was of cotton, linen, or silk.
        [Written also {byss} and {byssin}.]


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     2. (Zool.) A tuft of long, tough filaments which are formed
        in a groove of the foot, and issue from between the valves
        of certain bivalve mollusks, as the {Pinna} and {Mytilus},
        by which they attach themselves to rocks, etc.
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     3. (Bot.) An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of
        slender threads.
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     4. Asbestus.
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