Hypertext Webster Gateway: "bivalve"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Bivalve \Bi"valve\, a. [Pref. bi- + valve.] (Zo["o]l. & Bot.)
Having two shells or valves which open and shut, as the
oyster and certain seed vessels.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Bivalve \Bi"valve\, n. [F. bivalve; bi- (L. bis) + valve valve.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) A mollusk having a shell consisting of two
lateral plates or valves joined together by an elastic
ligament at the hinge, which is usually strengthened by
prominences called teeth. The shell is closed by the
contraction of two transverse muscles attached to the
inner surface, as in the clam, -- or by one, as in the
oyster. See Mollusca.
2. (Bot.) A pericarp in which the seed case opens or splits
into two parts or valves.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
bivalve
adj : (zoology) used of mollusks having two shells (as clams etc.)
[syn: {bivalved}] [ant: {univalve}]
n : marine or freshwater mollusks having a soft body with
platelike gills enclosed within two shells hinged
together [syn: {pelecypod}, {lamellibranch}]
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