| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| oyster |
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| SYLLABICATION: | oys·ter |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  oi st r |
| NOUN: | 1a. Any of several edible bivalve mollusks of the family Ostreidae, especially of the genera Crassostrea and Ostrea, that live chiefly in shallow marine waters and have a rough, irregularly shaped shell. b. Any of various similar or related bivalve mollusks, such as the pearl oyster. 2. An edible bit of muscle found in the hollow of the pelvic bone of a fowl. 3a. A special delicacy. b. Something from which benefits may be extracted. 4. Slang A close-mouthed person. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: oys·tered, oys·ter·ing, oys·ters
To gather, dredge for, or raise oysters. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English oistre, from Old French, from Latin ostreum, ostrea, from Greek ostreon. See ost- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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