oyster

Pronunciation: /ˈɔɪ.stɚ/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters
  2. noun edible body of any of numerous oysters
  3. noun a small muscle on each side of the back of a fowl

Etymology

From Middle English oystre, from Old English ostre, reinforced or superseded by Anglo-Norman oistre, which is from Old French oistre, uistre (compare modern French huître); both lines (Old English and Old French) from Latin ostrea, from Ancient Greek ὄστρεον (óstreon). Doublet of ostro (“a purple dye”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
bivalve
Narrower (hyponyms)
bluepoint, window oyster, japanese oyster, virginia oyster, seed oyster, saddle oyster

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