Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Byssus
‖
Bys′sus
,Noun.
pl. E.
Byssuses
; L. Byssi
. [L.
byssus
fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr. βύσσοσ
.] 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
.] 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. 3.
(Bot.)
An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of slender threads.
4.
Asbestus.
Webster 1828 Edition
Byssus
BYS'SUS
,Noun.