MOLLUSK

[mol.lusk] or mol.lusc n [F mollusque, fr. NL Mollusca, fr. L, neut. pl. of molluscus thin-shelled (of a nut), fr. mollis] (1783): any of a large phylum (Mollusca) of invertebrate animals (as snails, clams, or squids) with a soft unsegmented body usu. enclosed in a calcareous shell; broadly: shellfish -- mol.lus.can also mol.lus.kan adj