oyster

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive)
• HYPHEN: oys=ter

CIDE DICTIONARY

oyster, n. [OF. oistre, F. huître, L. ostrea, ostreum, Gr. 'o`streon; prob. akin to 'ostre`on bone, the oyster being so named from its shell. Cf. Osseous, Ostracize.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

Fresh-water oyster (Zoöl.), any species of the genus Etheria, and allied genera, found in rivers of Africa and South America. They are irregular in form, and attach themselves to rocks like oysters, but they have a pearly interior, and are allied to the fresh-water mussels. -- Oyster bed, a breeding place for oysters; a place in a tidal river or other water on or near the seashore, where oysters are deposited to grow and fatten for market. See 1st Scalp, n. -- Oyster catcher (Zoöl.), See oystercatcher in the vocabulary. -- Oyster crab (Zoöl.) a small crab (Pinnotheres ostreum) which lives as a commensal in the gill cavity of the oyster. -- Oyster dredge, a rake or small dragnet for bringing up oysters from the bottom of the sea. -- Oyster fish. (Zoöl.) (a) The tautog. (b) The toadfish. -- Oyster plant. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Tragopogon (Tragopogon porrifolius), the root of which, when cooked, somewhat resembles the oyster in taste; salsify; -- called also vegetable oyster. (b) A plant found on the seacoast of Northern Europe, America and Asia (Mertensia maritima), the fresh leaves of which have a strong flavor of oysters. -- Oyster plover. (Zoöl.) Same as oystercatcher. -- Oyster shell (Zoöl.), the shell of an oyster. -- Oyster wench, Oyster wife, Oyster women, a women who deals in oysters. -- Pearl oyster. (Zoöl.) See under Pearl. -- Thorny oyster (Zoöl.), any spiny marine shell of the genus Spondylus.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

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 world is my oyster).
4 (in full oyster-white) a white colour with a grey tinge.

Idiom

oyster-bank (or -bed) a part of the sea-bottom where oysters breed or are bred. oyster-catcher any usu. coastal wading bird of the genus Haematopus, with a strong orange-coloured bill, feeding on shellfish. oyster-farm an area of the seabed used for breeding oysters. oyster-plant
1 = SALSIFY.
2 a blue-flowered plant, Mertensia maritima, growing on beaches.

Etymology

ME & OF oistre f. L ostrea, ostreum f. Gk ostreon

DEVIL DICTIONARY

oyster

n. A slimy, gobby shellfish which civilization gives men the hardihood to eat without removing its entrails! The shells are sometimes given to the poor.

THESAURUS

oyster

Dungeness crab, Japanese crab, blue point, breast, chicken foot, clam, coquillage, crab, crawdad, crawfish, crayfish, dark meat, drumstick, giblets, langouste, leg, limpet, littleneck clam, lobster, long suit, medium, metier, mussel, neck, periwinkle, prawn, quahog, scallop, shellfish, shrimp, snail, soft-shell crab, steamer, thigh, turkey foot, whelk, white meat, wing, wishbone

ROGET THESAURUS

oyster

Food

N food, eating, deglutition, gulp, epulation, mastication, manducation, rumination, gluttony, hippophagy, ichthyophagy, (appetite), mouth, jaws, mandible, mazard, gob, chops, drinking, potation, draught, libation, carousal, drunkenness, food, pabulum, aliment, nourishment, nutriment, sustenance, sustentation, sustention, nurture, subsistence, provender, corn, feed, fodder, provision, ration, keep, commons, board, commissariat, prey, forage, pasture, pasturage, fare, cheer, diet, dietary, regimen, belly timber, staff of life, bread, bread and cheese, comestibles, eatables, victuals, edibles, ingesta, grub, grubstake, prog, meat, bread, bread stuffs, cerealia, cereals, viands, cates, delicacy, dainty, creature comforts, contents of the larder, fleshpots, festal board, ambrosia, good cheer, good living, beef, bisquit, bun, cornstarch, cookie, cooky, cracker, doughnut, fatling, hardtack, hoecake, hominy, mutton, pilot bread, pork, roti, rusk, ship biscuit, veal, joint, piece de resistance, roast and boiled, remove, entremet, releve, hash, rechauffe, stew, ragout, fricassee, mince, pottage, potage, broth, soup, consomme, puree, spoonmeat, pie, pasty, volauvent, pudding, omelet, pastry, sweets, kickshaws, condiment, appetizer, hors d'oeuvre, main course, entree, alligator pear, apple, apple slump, artichoke, ashcake, griddlecake, pancake, flapjack, atole, avocado, banana, beche de mer, barbecue, beefsteak, beet root, blackberry, blancmange, bloater, bouilli, bouillon, breadfruit, chop suey, chowder, chupatty, clam, compote, damper, fish, frumenty, grapes, hasty pudding, ice cream, lettuce, mango, mangosteen, mince pie, oatmeal, oyster, pineapple, porridge, porterhouse steak, salmis, sauerkraut, sea slug, sturgeon ("Albany beef"), succotash, supawn, trepang, vanilla, waffle, walnut, table, cuisine, bill of fare, menu, table d'hote, ordinary, entree, meal, repast, feed, spread, mess, dish, plate, course, regale, regalement, refreshment, entertainment, refection, collation, picnic, feast, banquet, junket, breakfast, lunch, luncheon, dejeuner, bever, tiffin, dinner, supper, snack, junk food, fast food, whet, bait, dessert, potluck, table d'hote, dejeuner a la fourchette, hearty meal, square meal, substantial meal, full meal, blowout, light refreshment, bara, chotahazri, bara khana, mouthful, bolus, gobbet, morsel, sop, sippet, drink, beverage, liquor, broth, soup, potion, dram, draught, drench, swill, nip, sip, sup, gulp, wine, spirits, liqueur, beer, ale, malt liquor, Sir John Barleycorn, stingo, heavy wet, grog, toddy, flip, purl, punch, negus, cup, bishop, wassail, gin, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, the cup that cheers but not inebriates, bock beer, lager beer, Pilsener beer, schenck beer, Brazil tea, cider, claret, ice water, mate, mint julep, near beer, 2 beer, non- alcoholic beverage, eating house, diner, hippophage, glutton, eatable, edible, esculent, comestible, alimentary, cereal, cibarious, dietetic, culinary, nutritive, nutritious, gastric, succulent, potable, potulent, bibulous, omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, granivorous, graminivorous, phytivorous, ichthyivorous, omophagic, omophagous, pantophagous, phytophagous, xylophagous, across the walnuts and the wine, blessed hour of our dinners!, now good digestion wait on appetite, and health on both!, who can cloy the hungry edge of appetite?.