Definition of Oyster

1. Noun. Marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters.


2. Verb. Gather oysters, dig oysters. "In the summer they like to go out and oyster"
Generic synonyms: Collect, Garner, Gather, Pull Together

3. Noun. Edible body of any of numerous oysters.
Exact synonyms: Huitre
Generic synonyms: Shellfish
Specialized synonyms: Oysters Rockefeller, Blue Point, Bluepoint

4. Noun. A small muscle on each side of the back of a fowl.
Generic synonyms: Helping, Portion, Serving
Group relationships: Bird, Fowl

Definition of Oyster

1. n. Any marine bivalve mollusk of the genus Ostrea. They are usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers. The common European oyster (Ostrea edulis), and the American oyster (Ostrea Virginiana), are the most important species.

Definition of Oyster

1. Noun. Any marine bivalve mollusk of the Family ''Ostreidae'', usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers. ¹

2. Noun. A name popularly given to the delicate morsel of dark meat contained in a small cavity of the bone on each side of the lower part of the back of a fowl. ¹

3. Noun. A pale beige color tinted with grey or pink, like that of an oyster. ¹

4. Noun. (colloquial by analogy) A person who keeps secrets and private information to him- or herself. ¹

5. Adjective. Of a pale beige colour tinted with grey or pink, like that of an oyster. ¹

6. Verb. (intransitive) To fish for oysters. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Oyster

1. to gather oysters (edible mollusks) [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Medical Definition of Oyster

1. 1. Any marine bivalve mollusk of the genus Ostrea. They are usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers. The common European oyster (Ostrea edulis), and the American oyster (Ostrea Virginiana), are the most important species. 2. A name popularly given to the delicate morsel contained in a small cavity of the bone on each side of the lower part of the back of a fowl. Fresh water oyster a small crab (Pinnotheres ostreum) which lives as a commensal in the gill cavity of the oyster. Oyster dredge, a rake or small dragnet of bringing up oyster from the bottom of the sea. Oyster fish. (Zool) The tautog. The toadfish. Oyster plant. Any spiny marine shell of the genus Spondylus. Origin: OF. Oistre, F. Huitre, L. Ostrea, ostreum,Gr.; prob. Akin to bone, the oyster being so named from its shell. Cf. Osseous, Ostracize. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Oyster

oyer
oyer and terminer
oyers
oyes
oyeses
oyesses
oyez
oyezes
oyl
oylet
oylets
oynoun
oynouns
oyrur
oys
oyster (current term)
oyster-fish
oyster Rockefeller
oyster agaric
oyster ball
oyster bank
oyster bar
oyster bed
oyster beds
oyster catcher
oyster crab
oyster cracker
oyster crackers
oyster dressing

Literary usage of Oyster

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"The immediate prospects are that the next practical step in the development of oyster culture in this country will be in the direction of raising in ..."

2. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and (1911)
"The renal organs of the oyster were discovered by Hock to agree in their ... The generative organs of the oyster consist of a system of branching cavities ..."

3. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1909)
"Acts of the state oyster inspector in assigning oyster ground, as authorized ... The boundaries of natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals are conclusively ..."

4. Bulletin of the New York Public Library by New York Public Library (1899)
"oyster Fisheries Commission. Report of commission appointed to inquire into ... oyster Fisheries Committee. Report, proceedings and evidence from the select ..."

5. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture: A Popular Survey of Agricultural by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1908)
"oyster. Ostrea spp. Mollusco,. Figs. 641-644. By Julius Nelson. The oyster industry has been considered a fishery, but it attains its best development ..."

6. Microscopical Morphology of the Animal Body in Health and Disease by Carl Heitzmann (1882)
"If we break the shell of an entirely fresh oyster on its thinnest edge, a small quantity of ... If we open the oyster by pulling apart the two valves, ..."

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