byssuses

Variant of byssus

noun pl. byssuses or byssi

  1. a fine fabric, esp. a linen cloth, used by the ancients, as in Egypt for mummy wrapping
  2. Zool. a tuft of filaments, chemically similar to silk, secreted by various marine bivalves, esp. the mussels, and used to attach the mollusk to the substratum

Origin: L < Gr byssos, fine linen or cotton < Sem, as in Heb buts < Sem *b-w-tz, to be white

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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