mollusc
nounUK /ˈmɒləsk/ · US /ˈmɑləsk/
Etymology Borrowed from French mollusque, from New Latin Mollusca (phylum name), from Latin molluscus (“thin-shelled”), from mollis (“soft”).
1
A soft-bodied invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically with a hard shell of one or more pieces.
- bivalve molluscs
- For example, the antitumour depsipeptide kahalalide F was isolated from the opisthobranch mollusc Elysia rufescens, and is used by both the mollusc and its dietary alga Bryopsis spp.2016 January 21, “Choose Your Weaponry: Selective Storage of a Single Toxic Compound, Latrunculin A, by Closely Related Nudibranch Molluscs”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
1 more example
- Searching for hard-shelled prey – molluscs, crabs and the like – there are two species of bear otter in Kanapoi.2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherworlds, Penguin, published 2023, page 25:
2
Figuratively A weak-willed person.
- Synonyms
- mollusc
- Derived terms
- micromollusc, molluscicide, molluscivore, molluscous
- Related terms
- :Category:Mollusks
- Hypernyms
- invertebrate, animal