Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Oyster |
OysterNoun1. Marine mollusks having a rough irregular shell; found on the sea bed mostly in coastal waters. 2. Edible body of any of numerous oysters. 3. A small muscle on each side of the back of a fowl. Verb1. Gather oysters, dig oysters. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "oyster" was first used: 13th century. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | OYSTER, n. A slimy, gobby shellfish which civilization gives men the hardihood to eat without removing its entrails! The shells are sometimes given to the poor. P. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Literature | Oyster Fast as a Kentish oyster i.e. hermetically sealed. Kentish oysters are proverbially good, and all good oysters are fast-closed. Oyster No more sense than an oyster. This is French: Ilraisonne raisonne comme une huitre." Oysters have a mouth, but no head. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Slang in 1811 | OYSTER. A gob of thick phlegm, spit by a consumptive man; in law Latin, UNUM VIRIDUM GOBBUMP'S. To mind one's P's and Q's; to be attentive to the main chance. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Oysters are mollusks which grow for the most part in marine or brackish water. The two main edible groups belong either to the Ostrea or Crassostrea, more recently called Saccostrea. Members of the Ostrea generally live continually immersed in sea water, brood their fertilized eggs for various proportions of the period from fertilization to hatching and are quite flat with roundish shells. They are members of the group bivalvia, but differ to most bivalves by having shells completely comprised of calcite but with internal muscle scars of aragonitic composition.
They do best in water with a not too thick concentration of phytoplankton. Members of the Saccostrea/Crassostrea generally live in the intertidal zone, broadcast sperm and eggs into the sea and can thrive in water which is very rich in phytoplankton. One of the most commonly cultivated oysters of the Crassostrea/Saccostrea is Saccostrea gigas, the Japanese oyster, which is ideally suited for oyster cultivation in seawater ponds.
Oysters can be eaten either raw or cooked, but like all shellfish they have an extremely short shelf-life. They should be fresh when consumed or serious illness can result. Additionally, oysters can host various illness-causing pathogens. Therefore, consumption of raw oysters should be done with caution.
Researchers in Oregon have invented a self-shucking oyster.
Oysters are the source of pearls, both cultivated and natural.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Oyster."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| OYP | English | Portuguese cupped oyster | Food & Agriculture, Biology & Biotechnology |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonym: OysterSynonym: huitre (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Food | Alligator pear, apple; apple slump; artichoke; ashcake, griddlecake, pancake, flapjack; atole, avocado, banana, beche de mer, barbecue, beefsteak; beet root; blackberry, blancmange, bloater, bouilli, bouillon, breadfruit, chop suey; chowder, chupatty, clam, compote, damper, fish, frumenty, grapes, hasty pudding, ice cream, lettuce, mango, mangosteen, mince pie, oatmeal, oyster, pineapple, porridge, porterhouse steak, salmis, sauerkraut, sea slug, sturgeon ("Albany beef"), succotash, supawn, trepang, vanilla, waffle, walnut. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Oyster |
| English words defined with "oyster": Asiphonida, Avicula ♦ blue point, bluepoint ♦ Chalder, Cultch ♦ Drome ♦ eggs Benedict ♦ Feather-edge/, Fierasfer ♦ Goat's beard, Greengill, Gryphaea ♦ Hammer shell, Hard oyster ♦ Inequivalvular ♦ Monomyaria ♦ Ostracean, Ostracite, Ostreaceous, Oyster catcher, Oyster crab, Oyster dredge, oyster plant, Oyster plover, Oyster shell, Oysterling ♦ pearl, Pinnothere ♦ Red beard, Ruche ♦ Saddle shell, Sea pie, seed oyster, Shell road, Skieldrake, spat ♦ Tirma, Tree oyster, Trillachan ♦ Unimuscular ♦ Virginia oyster ♦ Window shell. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "oyster": Buttermilk ♦ Close as a Clam ♦ DEE-LIGHTED ♦ GREAT ♦ lumachelle ♦ Mother of Pearl ♦ natural pearl ♦ Oyster and Huitre, OYSTER FLOATER, Oyster Part, Oyster Shells, Oysters ♦ PEARL ♦ RAW SHELLFISH PREPARER, real pearl, ROOSEVELT ♦ Soup, Sporting Seasons in England ♦ TAFT. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "oyster": Tethys. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | The last time I had a pap smear, the guy needed leather gloves and an oyster shucker (There's Something About Mary; writing credit: Ed Decter; John J. Strauss) | |
Lyrics | There's never been an oyster so divine (Androgyny; performing artist: Garbage) | |
Clever | It is the wounded oyster that mends its shell with the pearl. (references; author: unknown) The world may be your oyster, but it doesn't mean you'll get its pearl. (references; author: unknown) | |
Tongue Twisters | A noisy noise annoys an oyster. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Oyster Man (1951) The Oyster Dredger (1915) Blue Oyster Cult: Live 1976 (1976) | |
Song Titles | Moving On (performing artist: Oyster Band) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
| ||
Theater & Movies | |||
Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | "Good" foods are displayed in a shopping cart. Some foods in the cart include vegetables, fruits and oyster crackers. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Oyster setting tanks at the University of Maryland Horn Point Environmental Laboratory on the Choptank River. Used by the Oyster Recovery Partnership, oyster larvae are placed in these tanks for two days, allowing them to set on shells where they stay and continue to grow for the rest of their lives. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | Eroded cliffs along the Tred Avon River reveal buried piles of oyster shells. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Oyster shells are recycled by planting them on soft muddy bottom. This gives a firm surface for the attachment of young oysters and helps provide larger crops. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | Hundred of starfish dredged or scraped off an oyster bed. Starfish attack young oysters and threaten the well-being of the oyster crop. F&WL 12,416. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Placement of oyster shell along the wooden plug. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |
 | This project was conducted to determine if geotube material could be used to as suitable substrate for oyster spat. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |  | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Eastern oyster - Crassotrea virginica. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |
 | North Inlet - Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Oyster and clam beds are closed in some portions of estuaries due to high levels fecal coliform bacteria, an indicator of sewage pollution. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |  | A typical invertebrate grouping found on the interior roof of the pipes consisting primarily of bryozoa, tunicates and sponges over the top of oyster shells. Credit: The Coral Kingdom. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "NSW Central Coast" by Jon Sepúlveda Commentary: "Sheather's Boatshed on the way to Woy Woy. Oyster farms in the Background. NSW Central Coast." | "Oysterzoom" by Markus . Commentary: "Detail from an oyster." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Andrew Carnegie | The first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell. |
Theodore Roosevelt | Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | This heap of oyster shells, which they call a library, disgusts me to think of. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Revision of the standards used for closing and re-opening of oyster beds to take into account the role of environmental factors. (references) | |
When an outbreak is traced to an oyster bed, health officials recommend closing the oyster bed until conditions are less favorable for V. parahaemolyticus. (references) | ||
Many persons prefer to consume oysters raw. Many persons with liver disease are unaware of the hazards of raw oyster consumption and exposure to warm seawater. (references) | ||
Economic History | Mexico | Shrimp and oyster aquaculture has been vigorously promoted. (references) |
Mexico | The main fisheries center is the coastal town of San Blas, where there is an oyster research center. (references) | |
Mexico | Fishing (sardine, oyster, shark, anchovy) is also important and one of the state's main sources of foreign exchange. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | GREAT, adj. "I'm great," the Lion said -- "I reign The monarch of the wood and plain!" The Elephant replied: "I'm great -- No quadruped can match my weight!" "I'm great -- no animal has half So long a neck!" said the Giraffe. "I'm great," the Kangaroo said -- "see My femoral muscularity!" The 'Possum said: "I'm great -- behold, My tail is lithe and bald and cold!" An Oyster fried was understood To say: "I'm great because I'm good!" Each reckons greatness to consist In that in which he heads the list, And Vierick thinks he tops his class Because he is the greatest ass. Arion Spurl Doke |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Oyster" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 94.44% of the time. "Oyster" is used about 198 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 94.44% | 187 | 22,491 |
| Noun (proper) | 5.56% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Total | 100.00% | 198 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "oyster" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Oyster | Last name | 200 | 37,211 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "oyster": Corn oyster ♦ hammer oyster ♦ Hard oyster ♦ japanese oyster ♦ oyster agaric ♦ oyster bank ♦ oyster bar ♦ Oyster Bay ♦ Oyster Bay Cove ♦ oyster bed ♦ oyster catcher ♦ oyster crab ♦ oyster cracker ♦ Oyster Creek ♦ oyster dredge ♦ oyster dressing ♦ oyster farm ♦ oyster farming ♦ oyster fish ♦ oyster fungus ♦ oyster mushroom ♦ oyster park ♦ oyster plant ♦ oyster plover ♦ oyster shell ♦ Oyster Shell Calcium ♦ oyster stew ♦ oyster stuffing ♦ oyster velar virus disease ♦ oyster wench ♦ oyster wife ♦ oyster women ♦ Pearl oyster ♦ prairie oyster ♦ raccoon oyster ♦ saddle oyster ♦ seed oyster ♦ spanish oyster plant ♦ the world is his oyster ♦ Thorny oyster ♦ Tree oyster ♦ vegetable oyster ♦ Virginia oyster ♦ window oyster ♦ windowpane oyster. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "oyster": oyster-beds, oyster-catcher, oyster-catchers, oyster-coloured, oyster-doubter, oyster-dredgers, oyster-fishing, Oyster-green, oyster-like, oyster-park, oyster-pink, oyster-plant, oyster-shells. | |
Ending with "oyster": pearl-oyster, putty-oyster. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
oyster | 598 | oyster stew | 34 |
blue oyster cult | 494 | fried oyster | 33 |
oyster bay ny | 165 | prairie oyster | 32 |
bay oyster town | 136 | union oyster house | 32 |
blue cult lyrics oyster | 109 | oyster plate | 32 |
oyster recipe | 98 | creek oyster | 31 |
oyster bay | 92 | oyster shell | 30 |
oyster sauce | 63 | oyster rockefeller | 29 |
oyster mushroom | 55 | bar oyster pearl | 27 |
oyster picture | 49 | acme house oyster | 26 |
oyster pearl | 49 | blue cult oyster tab | 25 |
rocky mountain oyster | 48 | mountain oyster | 24 |
oyster knife | 48 | oyster point hotel | 23 |
blue cult don fear lyrics oyster reaper t | 42 | oyster band | 22 |
oyster bar | 42 | blue oyster | 20 |
oyster whistling | 40 | bay golf oyster | 20 |
rolex oyster | 38 | bay oyster resort | 19 |
oyster bay beach resort | 37 | festival oyster | 19 |
diamond oyster perpetual rolex watch womens | 36 | oyster bay new york | 19 |
rolex oyster perpetual | 35 | fried oyster recipe | 19 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "oyster"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | gocë deti (mollusc, mollusk, scallop, scollop, shellfish). (various references) | |
Arabic | محارة (conch, conchoid, mussel, shell), المحار رخويات بحرية, الصموت شخص كثير الصمت, أحمق (ass, barmy, berk, bonkers, brutish, childish, chuckle-head, chump, cuckoo, daft, empty, empty headed, fantastic, fat, fathead, fatuous, foolish, footless, goofy, goon, haywire, idiotic, impolitic, imprudent, indiscreet, inept, injudicious, insensate, jerk, lemon, mad, meaningless, nit, nitwit, nonsensical, numskull, ornery, perverse, pointless, prat, screwball, senseless, sod, stupid, unwise, vacant, wacky, weak, weak-minded, whacky, witless, wood-headed, zany). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | стрида, нещо изгодно, затворен човек, ловя стриди. (various references) | |
Catalan | ostra. (various references) | |
Chamorro | tapon. (various references) | |
Chinese | 蚵 , 鮚 , 蠣 , 蠔 , 牡蛎 (Bivalve), 牡蠣 . (various references) | |
Cornish | estren. (various references) | |
Czech | ústřice. (various references) | |
Danish | østers (oysters). (various references) | |
Dutch | oester (common oyster, European flat oyster). (various references) | |
Esperanto | ostro. (various references) | |
Faeroese | ostra (oysters). (various references) | |
Farsi | صدف خوراکی(ج.ش.). (various references) | |
Finnish | osteri. (various references) | |
French | huître (oyster of claire, oyster of fattening pond). (various references) | |
Frisian | oester. (various references) | |
German | Auster (common oyster, European flat oyster). (various references) | |
Greek | στρείδι (barnacle, cockle, mussel). (various references) | |
Hebrew | צדפה (clam, cockle). (various references) | |
Hungarian | osztriga. (various references) | |
Indonesian | tiram (abalone). (various references) | |
Italian | ostrica (common oyster, European flat oyster, oyster of claire, oyster of fattening pond). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 牡蛎 , 牡蠣 (oyster shell), オールトの雲 (all back, all locations, all pass, all risks, all-night, all-purpose, all-round, all-round player, almighty, au revoir, aurora, euthanasia, good by, OAPEC, oasis, Oedipus, old boy, old fan, Old Guard, old maid, Old Parr, old power, old-fashioned, old-timer, Oort's cloud, Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, Orlon). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ぼれい (oyster shell), かき (fence, fire, firearms, flower vase, flowering plants, flowering season, guns, oyster shell, persimmon, summer season, the following), オイスター . (various references) | |
Korean | 굴 (Cave, Caved, Den). (various references) | |
Malay | kerang. (various references) | |
Manx | ooastyr. (various references) | |
Maori | tio. (various references) | |
Papiamen | uster. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | oysteray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | ostra. (various references) | |
Romanian | stridie. (various references) | |
Russian | устрица, раковина (air pocket, cockleboat, cockleshell, conch, pit, shell, sink, void, wash basin, wash basins). (various references) | |
Scottish | eisir, eisiridh. (various references) | |
Sepedi | kgetla. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | ostriga (shellfish), oštrica (blade, cutting edge), kamenica. (various references) | |
Spanish | ostra (bluepoint). (various references) | |
Swedish | ostron (Austrian). (various references) | |
Thai | หอยนางรม. (various references) | |
Turkish | istiridye (clam), ístírídye. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | устриця (ostracean), ніжне пташине м'ясо. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sò tẩm bột rán (oyster-partty). (various references) | |
Welsh | llymarch. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | ostrea, Ostrea edulis (Linnaeus). (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "oyster": oystercatcher, oystercatchers, oystered, oysterer, oysterers, oystering, oysterings, oysterman, oystermen, oysters. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "oyster": royster. (additional references) | |
Words containing "oyster": roystered, roystering, roysters. (additional references) | |
| |
"Oyster" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Eysner, hyster, oister, oistre, ostar, oster, Ostern, oyester, Oysley, Oysten, oystere, Vystar, yoster, zoster. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "oyster" (pronounced oy"ster) |
| 4 | oy" s t er | cloister, roister, royster. |
| 3 | -s t er | dumpster, duster, Easter, adjuster, administer, alabaster, ancestor, aster, banister, bannister, barrister, blaster, blister, blockbuster, bluster, bolster, booster, broadcaster, burgomaster, Buster, canister, cannister, caster, Castor, cluster, coaster, concertmaster, coster, Dempster, Dexter, digester, disaster, ester, faster, Feaster, fester, filibuster, fluster, forecaster, Forester, Foster, gangbuster, gangster, Gaster, grandmaster, hamster, harvester, headmaster, heister, holster, huckster, imposter, impostor, investor, jester, juster, keister, kiester, lackluster, laster, Leister, Lister, lobster, Luster, lustre, master, minister, Minster, Mister, mobster, molester, monster, muenster, Munster, muster, nester, Nestor, newscaster, oldster, oleaster, ouster, paster, pastor, pester, pilaster, plaster, pollster, polyester, poster, postmaster, prankster, protester, quartermaster, raster, register, requester, rester, ringmaster, roadster, roaster, rooster, roster, schoolmaster, scoutmaster, seamster, semester, sequester, shyster, sinister, sister, spinster, sportscaster, stepsister, taskmaster, taster, teamster, tester, thruster, tipster, toaster, toastmaster, transistor, trickster, trimester, twister, Ulster, upholster, waster, Webster, Wester, youngster, zoster. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: storey, toyers. | |
| Words within the letters "e-o-r-s-t-y" | |
-1 letter: oyers, roset, rotes, ryots, store, story, stroy, tores, torse, toyer, treys, troys, tyers, tyres, tyros, yores. | |
-2 letters: eros, erst, ores, orts, oyer, oyes, rest, rets, roes, rose, rosy, rote, rots, ryes, ryot, sore, sort, stey, stye, toes, tore, tors, tory, toys, trey, troy, tyer, tyes, tyre, tyro, yore. | |
-3 letters: ers, oes, ore, ors. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-o-r-s-t-y" | |
+1 letter: destroy, oysters, royster, storeys, stroyed, stroyer. | |
+2 letters: botryose, corsetry, courtesy, destroys, drystone, elytrous, forestay, forestry, herstory, hostelry, isometry, overstay, oystered, oysterer, prostyle, protyles, roysters, serosity, serotype, skywrote, smothery, sobriety, storeyed, stroyers, tourneys, trolleys, tutoyers, tyrosine, urostyle. | |
+3 letters: allostery, astrocyte, attorneys, barytones, cerotypes, costumery, cryolites, destroyed, destroyer, desultory, dosimetry, erosivity, erythrons, forestays, hysteroid, keynoters, keystroke, kryolites, monastery, nervosity, osmometry, overhasty, overstays, overstory, oysterers, oystering, oysterman, oystermen, polyester, posterity, proselyte, prostyles, rhyolites, roseately, routeways, royalties, roystered, seaworthy, secretory, seniority, serotypes, skyrocket, southerly, strongyle, tyrosines, urostyles, verbosity, youngster. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Names: Frequency 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Translations: Ancient 18. Abbreviations 19. Acronyms 20. Derivations | 21. Rhymes 22. Anagrams 23. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
