- oyster
- A marine mollusk, relished as food by most people. Figuratively, a source of benefit or advantage. See shellfish.
Ballentine's law dictionary. Anderson, W.S.. 1998.
oyster
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Oyster — Oys ter (ois t[ e]r), n. [OF. oistre, F. hu[^i]tre, L. ostrea, ostreum, Gr. o streon; prob. akin to ostre on bone, the oyster being so named from its shell. Cf. {Osseous}, {Ostracize}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any marine bivalve mollusk of the genus Ostrea … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
oyster — [ois′tər] n. [OFr oistre < L ostrea < Gr ostreon, oyster; akin to osteon, a bone: see OSSIFY] 1. any of various bivalve mollusks with an irregularly shaped, unequal shell, living attached to rocks, other shells, etc., and widely used as… … English World dictionary
oyster — (n.) mid 14c., from O.Fr. oistre (Fr. huître), from L. ostrea, plural or fem. of ostreum oyster, from Gk. ostreon, from PIE *ost bone (see OSSEOUS (Cf. osseous)). Related to Gk. ostrakon hard shell and to osteon bone … Etymology dictionary
oyster — ► NOUN 1) a bivalve marine mollusc with a rough, flattened, irregularly oval shell, several kinds of which are farmed for food or pearls. 2) a shade of greyish white. 3) an oval morsel of meat on each side of the backbone in poultry. ● the world… … English terms dictionary
Oyster — For other uses, see Oyster (disambiguation). Crassostrea gigas from the Marennes Oléron basin in France The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The… … Wikipedia
oyster — /oy steuhr/, n. 1. any of several edible, marine, bivalve mollusks of the family Ostreidae, having an irregularly shaped shell, occurring on the bottom or adhering to rocks or other objects in shallow water. 2. the oyster shaped bit of dark meat… … Universalium
oyster — n. 1 any of various bivalve molluscs of the family Ostreidae or Aviculidae, esp. an edible kind, Ostrea edulus, of European waters. 2 an oyster shaped morsel of meat in a fowl s back. 3 something regarded as containing all that one desires (the… … Useful english dictionary
Oyster — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Le mot Oyster est surtout utilisé pour : Rolex Oyster Modèle de boîtier assurant un degré d étanchéité révolutionnaire à l époque inventé par Hans… … Wikipédia en Français
oyster — /ˈɔɪstə / (say oystuh) noun 1. any of various edible marine bivalve molluscs, family Ostreidae, with irregularly shaped shell, found on the bottom or adhering to rocks, etc., in shallow water, some species being extensively cultivated for the… …
oyster — [[t]ɔ͟ɪstə(r)[/t]] oysters 1) N COUNT An oyster is a large flat shellfish. Some oysters can be eaten and others produce valuable objects called pearls. He had two dozen oysters and enjoyed every one of them. 2) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that… … English dictionary
oyster — UK [ˈɔɪstə(r)] / US [ˈɔɪstər] noun [countable] Word forms oyster : singular oyster plural oysters a type of shellfish that has a rough shell and is eaten as food, often raw. Some types of oyster contain pearls (= small white jewels) … English dictionary
