LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininesecond declension

byssus

byssus f (genitive byssī)
Classical[ˈbys.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈbis.sus]

Meaning

  1. femininebyssus or sea silk

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebyssusbyssī
genitivebyssībyssōrum
dativebyssōbyssīs
accusativebyssumbyssōs
ablativebyssōbyssīs
vocativebyssebyssī

byssus, i, f. (byssum, i, n., Isid. Orig. 19, 27, 4), = βύσσος [Heb. ],
I. cotton, cotton stuff, App. M. 11, p. 258, 20; Mart. Cap. 2, § 114; Vulg. Exod. 25, 4 al. (acc. to others, a fine kind of flax, and the linen made from it; v. Liddell and Scott's Lex.).

Origins

From Ancient Greek βῠ́σσος (bŭ́ssos, “flax; flax cotton”), from a Semitic source cognate to Hebrew בּוּץ (būṣ, “byssus”) and Aramaic בּוּצָא (būṣā, “byssus”).

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesByssusByssus (βύσσος). It has been a subject of some dispute whether the byssus of the ancients was cotton or linen. Herodotus (2.86) says that the mummies …

Quick answers

What does byssus mean in Latin?
byssus, a noun, means “byssus or sea silk”.
What is the genitive of byssus?
The genitive singular is byssī. byssus is feminine, second declension.
How do you pronounce byssus?
In classical Latin, [ˈbys.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈbis.sus].