bivalve
pronunciation
How to pronounce bivalve in British English:
UK [ˈbaɪvælv]
How to pronounce bivalve in American English:
US [ˈbaɪˌvælv]
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- Noun:
- marine or freshwater mollusks having a soft body with platelike gills enclosed within two shells hinged together
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- Adjective:
- used of mollusks having two shells (as clams etc.)
Word Origin
- bivalve (adj.)
- 1660s in reference to mollusks with double shells; 1670s in reference to shutters or doors; from bi- + valve. The noun is 1680s in the mollusk sense.
Example
- 1. They called him a bivalve and ran quickly away .
- 2. Optimization of methods for preparation of metaphase chromosome in bivalve .
- 3. Marine or freshwater bivalve mollusk that lives attached to rocks etc.
- 4. " Any of various marine gastropod mollusks , chiefly of the genus urosalpinx , that bore holes into the shells of bivalve mollusks . U. cinera is destructive to oysters . "
- 5. Marine bivalve common in philippine coastal waters characterized by a large thin flat translucent shell .