oyster
/ˈɔɪ.stɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.54 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of certain marine bivalve mollusks, especially those of the family Ostreidae (the true oysters), usually found adhering to rocks or other fixed objects in shallow water along the seacoasts, or in brackish water in the mouth of rivers.
Example Sentences
- "Piſt. Why then the world's mine Oyſter, which I, with ſword will open."
- "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster."
- "Cut remaining skin on back. Remove the oyster (choice dark meat in spoon-shaped bone on back) with the leg."
- "Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster."
- "I will not be a human oyster. No, I will lay my cards on the table, which is assuredly a thing that oysters do not do."
- "He asked a major Chicago retailer with a large store in the heart of the city about the socioeconomic character of his customers. The man replied proudly that the entire range of economic classes was his oyster."
Etymology
From Middle English oystre, from Old English ostre, reinforced or superseded by Anglo-Norman oistre, which is from Old French oistre, uistre (compare modern French huître); both lines (Old English and Old French) from Latin ostrea, from Ancient Greek ὄστρεον (óstreon). Doublet of ostro (“a purple dye”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɔɪ.stɚ/
- British English: /ˈɔɪ.stə/
Usage
- Colloquial
- British usage
- Slang
- Intransitive verb
Inflected Forms
oysters (plural)
erster (alternative)
oister (alternative, obsolete)
oystre (alternative, obsolete)
more oyster (comparative)
most oyster (superlative)
oysters (present, singular)
oystering (participle, present)
oystered (participle, past)
oystered (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
American oyster
Atlantic oyster
Belon oyster
black-bordered oyster
black-lip pearl oyster
bluff oyster
box oyster
bunch oyster