• n. From the Latin "byssus". It refers to the mass strong, silky filaments, by which bibalve molluscs attach themselves to the surface of rocks or to fixed surfaces. It could refer also, as historical term, to an egyptian linen.

• http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300247544 (Silk Heritage Thesaurus)

• Simpson, John; Weiner, Edmund (eds). The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford : Clarendon Press ; Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1989. [www.oed.com]

http://data.silknow.org/vocabulary/831