from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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. (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.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Bot.) An obsolete name for certain fungi composed of
slender threads.
[1913 Webster]
4. Asbestus.
[1913 Webster]