mussel

M3U1S1S1E1L1
UK, US/ˈmʌsəl/

noun

A saltwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Mytilida in subclass Pteriomorphia.

OriginMiddle English muscle ← Old English muscle ← Proto-West Germanic *muskulā →
Less commonScrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounmussel (plural mussels)

plural mussels

  1. Any of several groups of bivalve shellfish with elongated, asymmetrical shells.
    1. A saltwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Mytilida in subclass Pteriomorphia.
    2. A freshwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Unionida in subclass Palaeoheterodonta.
    3. Any of certain other bivalves of somewhat similar appearance, such as the zebra mussel and quagga mussel of the family Dreissenidae in subclass Heterodonta.

Origin

  1. Latinmūsculus“mussel, muscle”
  2. Late Latinmuscula
  3. Proto-West Germanic*muskulā
  4. Old Englishmuscle
  5. Middle Englishmuscle“mussel”
  6. Englishmussel

From Middle English muscle (“mussel”), from Old English muscle, from Proto-West Germanic *muskulā, from Late Latin muscula, from Latin mūsculus (“mussel, muscle”, literally “little mouse”). Doublet of muscle.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans mossel
  • mosselany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Ancient Greek κόγχη
  • κόγχη (kónkhē)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Arabic بَلَحُ الْبَحْر
  • بَلَحُ الْبَحْر (balaḥu l-baḥr)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Basque muskuilua
  • muskuiluaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Bulgarian черна мида, мида
  • черна мида (černa mida)saltwater mussel
  • мида (mida)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Catalan musclo, musclo
  • musclosaltwater mussel
  • muscloany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Chinese Cantonese 青口
  • 青口 (ceng¹ hau²)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Chinese Mandarin 淡菜, 殼菜 /壳菜
  • 淡菜 (dàncài)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • 殼菜 /壳菜 (qiàocài)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • 貽貝 /贻贝 (yíbèi)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • 青口 (qīngkǒu)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Czech slávka
  • slávkaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Danish musling
  • muslingany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Dutch mossel
  • mosselany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Esperanto mitulo
  • mituloany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Estonian jõekarp
  • jõekarpany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Finnish merisimpukka, järvisimpukka
  • merisimpukkasaltwater mussel
  • järvisimpukkafreshwater mussel
  • makeanveden simpukkafreshwater mussel
  • simpukkaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
French moule, moule d’eau douce
  • moulesaltwater mussel
  • moule d’eau doucefreshwater mussel
  • mouleany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
German Teichmuschel, Süßwassermuschel
  • Teichmuschelfreshwater mussel
  • Süßwassermuschelfreshwater mussel
  • Muschelany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • Miesmuschelany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Greek μύδι
  • μύδι (mýdi)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Hebrew מוּל
  • מוּל (mul)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Hungarian szívkagyló, kagyló
  • szívkagylóany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • kagylóany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Icelandic kræklingur, bláskel
  • kræklingurany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • bláskelany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Irish diúilicín
  • diúilicínany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Italian cozza, mitilo
  • cozzaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • mitiloany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • muscoloany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • peocioany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • dattero neroany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • poverazzaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Japanese 貽貝, ムール貝
  • 貽貝 (igai)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • ムール貝 (mūru-gai)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Korean 조개, 홍합
  • 조개 (jogae)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • 홍합 (honghap)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Latin spondylus
  • spondylusany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Malay kupang
  • kupangany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Māori kuku, kākahi
  • kukusaltwater mussel
  • kākahifreshwater mussel
  • kūtaiany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • kukuany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Norwegian blåskjell
  • blåskjellany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Persian صدف سیاه
  • صدف سیاه (sadaf-e siyâh)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Polish małż, omułek
  • małżany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • omułekany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Portuguese mexilhão
  • mexilhãoany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Romanian midie, scoică de apă dulce
  • midieany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • scoică de apă dulceany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Russian мидия, ми́дия
  • мидия (midija)saltwater mussel
  • ми́дия (mídija)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Scottish Gaelic feusgan
  • feusganany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Slovak mušľa
  • mušľaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Spanish almeja de agua dulce, mejillón
  • almeja de agua dulcefreshwater mussel
  • mejillónany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • choroany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • mítuloany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • mocejónany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • cholgaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • cholguaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Swedish mussla
  • musslaany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Tagalog halaan
  • halaanany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Thai หอยสองฝา
  • หอยสองฝา (hŏi sŏng făa)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Turkish midye
  • midyeany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Ukrainian мі́дія
  • мі́дія (mídija)any small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Vietnamese chem chép
  • chem chépany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
Welsh cragen las, cragen ddu
  • cragen lasany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • cragen dduany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc
  • misglany small edible bivalve shellfish — see also clam, oyster, mollusc

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mussel

muscleRussellhustlerusselbustlerustletussleabustlebruslebrustletussal
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

muscle
Cite this entry
APA

mussel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mussel

MLA

“mussel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mussel. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mussel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mussel.

Source: mussel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.