Bi"valve (&?;), a.
[Pref. bi- + valve.]
(Zoöl. & Bot.) Having two shells or valves which open and shut, as the oyster and certain seed vessels.
Bi"valve (&?;), n. [F. bivalve; bi- (L. bis) + valve valve.]
1. (Zoöl.) 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.
Hear it pronounced