BYSSOID
Bys"soid, a. Etym: [Byssus + -oid.]
Defn: Byssaceous.
BYSSOLITE
Bys"so*lite, n. Etym: [Gr.-lite.] (Min.)
Defn: An olive-green fibrous variety of hornblende.
BYSSUS Bys"sus, n.; pl. E. Byssuses(#); L. Byssi.(#) Etym: [L. byssus fine flax, fine linen or cotton, Gr.
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. (Zoöl.)
Defn: 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.)
Defn: An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of slender threads.