Found 2 items, similar to byssus.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: byssus byssus n : tuft of strong filaments by which e.g. a mussel makes itself fast to a fixed surface [syn: beard] [also: byssi (pl)]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Byssus Byssus \Bys"sus\, n.; pl. E. Byssuses; L. Byssi.[L. byssus fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr. by`ssos .] [1913 Webster] 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.] [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo["o]l.) 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. [1913 Webster] 3. (Bot.) An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of slender threads. [1913 Webster] 4. Asbestus. [1913 Webster]