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Hole One a New See Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary
Another word for bivalve
Hi everybody,
Do you use any other word that could substitute the word 'bivalve'? I found many words but none of them has the same meaning. E.g. mussels (edible little bivalves), shellfish (could be a crab, too), etc. are just subsets or have a little bit different meaning.
My problem is that we (= Hungarian people) have a word for it ('kagyló[k]') but I guess that we use it in a wider range. For example we could say:
The girl picked up a 'kagyló' at the beach.
But I couldn't imagine (it sounds strange/too scientific to me):
The girl picked up a 'bivalve' at the beach.
Maybe I'm wrong, I really don't know.
So my question is whether you have a word for 'bivalve' that I could use in this wider range?
Thanks for your answer(s) in advance.
Do you use any other word that could substitute the word 'bivalve'? I found many words but none of them has the same meaning. E.g. mussels (edible little bivalves), shellfish (could be a crab, too), etc. are just subsets or have a little bit different meaning.
My problem is that we (= Hungarian people) have a word for it ('kagyló[k]') but I guess that we use it in a wider range. For example we could say:
The girl picked up a 'kagyló' at the beach.
But I couldn't imagine (it sounds strange/too scientific to me):
The girl picked up a 'bivalve' at the beach.
Maybe I'm wrong, I really don't know.
So my question is whether you have a word for 'bivalve' that I could use in this wider range?
Thanks for your answer(s) in advance.
Top answer
Hi I think you would only use the word 'bivalve' if you were talking in a scientific context. Also, in that way, you could say 'freshwater and marine molluscs'. I'm no expert, but I think crabs are crustaceans - which are not bivalves In the UK, in common speech, I think we would say 'shellfish' for any animal with a shell that lives in water Dave
- Hi I think you would only use the word 'bivalve' if you were talking in a scientific context.
- Also, in that way, you could say 'freshwater and marine molluscs'.
- I'm no expert, but I think crabs are crustaceans - which are not bivalves In the UK, in common speech, I think we would say 'shellfish' for any animal with a shell that lives in water Dave
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5 Answers
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Hi
I think you would only use the word 'bivalve' if you were talking in a scientific context. Also, in that way, you could say 'freshwater and marine molluscs'. I'm no expert, but I think crabs are crustaceans - which are not bivalves
In the UK, in common speech, I think we would say 'shellfish' for any animal with a shell that lives in water
Dave
I think you would only use the word 'bivalve' if you were talking in a scientific context. Also, in that way, you could say 'freshwater and marine molluscs'. I'm no expert, but I think crabs are crustaceans - which are not bivalves
In the UK, in common speech, I think we would say 'shellfish' for any animal with a shell that lives in water
Dave
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Thank you, Dave 
I guess then, in common speech, I will use
1. 'shellfish' (which could be a crab, too, based on O
I guess then, in common speech, I will use
1. 'shellfish' (which could be a crab, too, based on O
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By the way, probably you realise this, but "shellfish" implies that there is something living inside it, possibly something you are going to eat. If there is nothing inside it, or you don't care, you could just say that you picked up a shell (or seashell). This term (without further qualfiication) normally includes only mollusc shells.
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Thank you, GPY
I guess I looked for this "you don't care" (i.e. the fact that I can use 'shell' in this case). Unfortunate
I guess I looked for this "you don't care" (i.e. the fact that I can use 'shell' in this case). Unfortunate
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