mollusc

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See also: mol·lusc

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French mollusque, from New Latin Mollusca (phylum name), from Latin molluscus (thin-shelled), from mollis (soft).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mollusc (plural molluscs)

  1. A soft-bodied invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically with a hard shell of one or more pieces.
    Hyponym: conchiferan
    bivalve molluscs
    • 2016 January 21, “Choose Your Weaponry: Selective Storage of a Single Toxic Compound, Latrunculin A, by Closely Related Nudibranch Molluscs”, in PLOS ONE[1], →DOI:
      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.
    • 2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherworlds, Penguin, published 2023, page 25:
      Searching for hard-shelled prey – molluscs, crabs and the like – there are two species of bear otter in Kanapoi.
  2. (figuratively) A weak-willed person.
    Synonyms: little girl, nose of wax, pushover

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