pearl oyster

pearl oyster
any of several marine bivalve mollusks of the family Pteriidae, some of which form pearls of great value, inhabiting waters of eastern Asia and off the coasts of Panama and Lower California.
[1685-95]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Pearl oyster — Oyster Oys ter (ois t[ e]r), n. [OF. oistre, F. hu[^i]tre, L. ostrea, ostreum, Gr. o streon; prob. akin to ostre on bone, the oyster being so named from its shell. Cf. {Osseous}, {Ostracize}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any marine bivalve mollusk of the genus …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pearl oyster — Pearl Pearl, n. [OE. perle, F. perle, LL. perla, perula, probably fr. (assumed) L. pirulo, dim. of L. pirum a pear. See {Pear}, and cf. {Purl} to mantle.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a brilliant luster, with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pearl oyster — Taxobox name = Pearl oyster image caption = Black lip oyster, Pinctada margaritifera regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Bivalvia ordo = Pterioida familia = Pteriidae genus = Pinctada genus authority = Roding, 1798 subdivision ranks =… …   Wikipedia

  • pearl oyster — pearl′ oys ter n. ivt any of several marine bivalve mollusks of the family Pteriidae, inhabiting tropical waters, some of which form pearls of great value • Etymology: 1685–95 …   From formal English to slang

  • pearl oyster — noun tropical marine bivalve found chiefly off eastern Asia and Pacific coast of North America and Central America; a major source of pearls • Syn: ↑Pinctada margaritifera • Hypernyms: ↑oyster • Member Holonyms: ↑Pinctada, ↑genus Pinctada …   Useful english dictionary

  • pearl oyster — noun Any of several bivalve molluscs that are a source of pearls, but especially Pinctada margaritifera Syn: pearl shell …   Wiktionary

  • pearl oyster — /pɜl ˈɔɪstə/ (say perl oystuh) noun any of the pearl producing bivalve molluscs of the family Ostreidae …  

  • pearl oyster —   Pipi. See sayings, i a hāmau leo, kuhi1 …   English-Hawaiian dictionary

  • pearl-oyster — …   Useful english dictionary

  • ceylon pearl oyster — noun Usage: usually capitalized C : a small pearl oyster (Pinctada vulgaris) widely distributed in the Indian ocean …   Useful english dictionary

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