| 释义 |
oys·ter
I. \ˈȯistə(r)\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English oistre, from Middle French, from Latin ostrea, from Greek ostreon; akin to Greek ostrakon shell, osteon bone — more at osseous
1. : a marine bivalve mollusk (family Ostreidae) having a rough irregular shell closed by a single adductor muscle, the foot small or wanting, and no siphon, living free on the bottom or adhering to stones or other objects in shallow water along the seacoasts or in brackish water in the mouths of rivers, and feeding on minute plants and animals carried to them by the current — see crassostrea, ostrea
2. : any of various bivalve mollusks more or less resembling the true oyster; especially : a Bermuda mollusk (Margaritophora radiata) that is locally important for food — often used with a descriptive adjective
< pearl oysters >
< reef oyster >
< rock oyster >
3.
a. : something that is or can be readily attained or made to serve one's personal ends : something regarded as belonging to or due one because of one's actual or presumed qualities, abilities, or status
< had just married and the world looked like his oyster — Think >
< the world is the salesman's oyster — D.W.Brogan >
< as long as you dressed decently and used acceptable English, and as long as your name could be pronounced, the town was your oyster — Russell Thacher >
b. : cup of tea
< aviation is the college girl's oyster — Mademoiselle >
< youth is conservative, and mild romanticism is its oyster — Virgil Thomson >
4. : a small mass of muscle contained in a concavity of the pelvic bone on each side of the back of a fowl and usually regarded as a delicacy
5. : an extremely taciturn or reserved person
6. : a usually sautéed croquette
< corn oyster >
7. or oyster white
a. : a light gray to white
b. : a pale yellow green that is paler and slightly yellower than oyster gray, paler than amber white, and paler and yellower than average Nile
II. intransitive verb
(oystered ; oystered ; oystering \-t(ə)riŋ\ ; oysters)
: to gather or dredge oysters |