Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Oyster
Oys′ter
(ois′tẽr)
, Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
Any marine bivalve mollusk of the genus Ostrea. They are usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers. The common European oyster (
Ostrea edulis
), and the American oyster (Ostrea Virginiana
), are the most important species. 2.
A name popularly given to the delicate morsel contained in a small cavity of the bone on each side of the lower part of the back of a fowl.
Fresh-water oyster
(Zool.)
, any species of the genus
– Etheria
, and allied genera, found in rivers of Africa and South America. They are irregular in form, and attach themselves to rocks like oysters, but they have a pearly interior, and are allied to the fresh-water mussels. Oyster bed
, a breeding place for oysters; a place in a tidal river or other water on or near the seashore, where oysters are deposited to grow and fatten for market. See 1st
– Scalp
, Noun.
Oyster catcher
(Zool.)
, See
– oystercatcher
in the vocabulary. Oyster crab
(Zool.)
a small crab (
– Pinnotheres ostreum
) which lives as a commensal in the gill cavity of the oyster. Oyster dredge
, a rake or small dragnet for bringing up oysters from the bottom of the sea.
– Oyster fish
. (Zool.)
(a)
The tautog.
(b)
The toadfish.
– Oyster plant
. (Bot.)
(a)
A plant of the genus
– called also Tragopogon
(Tragopogon porrifolius
), the root of which, when cooked, somewhat resembles the oyster in taste; salsify; vegetable oyster
. (b)
A plant found on the seacoast of Northern Europe, America and Asia (
– Mertensia maritima
), the fresh leaves of which have a strong flavor of oysters. Oyster plover
. (Zool.)
Same as
– oystercatcher
. Oyster shell
(Zool.)
, the shell of an oyster.
– Oyster wench
, Oyster wife
, Oyster women
a women who deals in oysters.
– Pearl oyster
. (Zool.)
See under
– Pearl
. Thorny oyster
(Zool.)
, any spiny marine shell of the genus
Spondylus
.Webster 1828 Edition
Oyster
OYS'TER
,Noun.
A bivalvular testaceous animal, found adhering to rocks or other fixed substances in salt water which is shallow, or in the mouths of rivers. Oysters are deemed nourishing and delicious.
Definition 2024
oyster
oyster
English
An oyster (bivalve of family Ostreidae), Ostrea edulis
Alternative forms
Noun
oyster (plural oysters)
- Any of certain marine bivalve mollusks, especially those of the family Ostreidae (the true oysters), usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers.
- 1597-8, William Shakespeare, “Act II, Scene II”, in The Merry Wives of Windsor:
- Why, then the world's mine oyster
- 1731, Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation, 1841, The Works of Jonathan Swift, Volume 2, page 344,
- He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.
-
- The delicate morsel of dark meat contained in a small cavity of the bone on each side of the lower part of the back of a fowl.
- A pale beige color tinted with grey or pink, like that of an oyster.
-
oyster colour:
-
- (colloquial, by analogy) A person who keeps secrets.
Translations
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food
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colour
person who keeps secrets
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Adjective
oyster (comparative more oyster, superlative most oyster)
- Of a pale beige colour tinted with grey or pink, like that of an oyster.
Verb
oyster (third-person singular simple present oysters, present participle oystering, simple past and past participle oystered)
- (intransitive) To fish for oysters.
Derived terms
Derived terms
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See also
- astragalus
- bluepoint
- carpetbag steak
- clam
- lungwort
- mussel
- Ostreidae
- salsify
- spat
- Appendix:Colors