ˈbisəs noun
( plural byssuses -sə̇z ; or bys·si -ˌsī, -_sē)
Etymology: Latin byssus, from Greek byssos flax, linen, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew būṣ linen cloth
1. : a fine cloth of ancient times believed to have been made of linen, cotton, or silk
2.
[New Latin, from Latin]
: a tuft of long tough filaments secreted by a gland in a groove of the foot of certain bivalve mollusks (as those of the genera Pinna and Mytilus ), issuing from between the valves, and serving as the means whereby the mollusk attaches itself to rocks or other foreign bodies