crab

crab
\ \ Crab the crustacean [OE] and crab the apple [14] may be two distinct words. The word for the sea creature has several continental relatives (such as German krebs and Dutch krabbe) which show it to have been of Germanic origin, and some of them, such as Old Norse kraflascratch’ and Old High German kraphohook’, suggest that the crab may have received its name on account of its claws. The origins of crab the fruit are not so clear. Some would claim that it is simply a metaphorical extension of the animal crab, from a perceived connection between the proverbial perversity or cantankerousness of the crustacean (compare crabbed) and the sourness of the apple, but others have proposed a connection with Swedish dialect skrabbawild apple’, noting that a form scrab was current in Scottish English from at least the 16th century.
\ \ Cf.CRAYFISH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Crab — (kr[a^]b), n. [AS. crabba; akin to D. krab, G. krabbe, krebs, Icel. krabbi, Sw. krabba, Dan. krabbe, and perh. to E. cramp. Cf. {Crawfish}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) One of the brachyuran Crustacea. They are mostly marine, and usually have a broad, short… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crab — crab; crab·bed; crab·bed·ly; crab·bed·ness; crab·bery; crab·bit; crab·eater; crab·man; crab·stick; crab·ber; crab·by; …   English syllables

  • crab — crab1 [krab] n. [ME crabbe < OE crabba < IE base * grebh , *gerebh , to scratch: see GRAPHIC] 1. any of various decapods with four pairs of legs, one pair of pincers, a flattish shell, and a short, broad abdomen folded under its thorax 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • Crab — steht für Crab Key, Filmtitel Crab Nebula, astronomisches Gebilde Horseshoe crab, Krebs Seitenwindlandung The Crab Cooker Restaurant in Kalifornien Siehe auch Crab Alley Creek, ein Fluss im US Bundesstaat Maryland Crab Island Crab Orchard Crabb …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • crab — CRAB, crabi, s.m. Nume dat mai multor specii de animale crustacee marine, cu zece picioare, cu abdomenul scurt şi îndoit sub cefalotoracele mare şi turtit; mai cunoscută este o specie din Marea Neagră, cu carnea foarte gustoasă (Carcinus moenas) …   Dicționar Român

  • crab — the crustacean [OE] and crab the apple [14] may be two distinct words. The word for the sea creature has several continental relatives (such as German krebs and Dutch krabbe) which show it to have been of Germanic origin, and some of them, such… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • Crab — Crab, a. [Prob. from the same root as crab, n.] Sour; rough; austere. [1913 Webster] The crab vintage of the neighb ring coast. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crab — ► NOUN 1) a marine crustacean, some kinds of which are edible, with a broad shell and five pairs of legs, the first of which are modified as pincers. 2) (crabs) informal an infestation of crab lice. ► VERB 1) move sideways or obliquely. 2) fish… …   English terms dictionary

  • crab — [kræb] n [Sense: 1 3; Origin: Old English crabba] [Sense: 4; Date: 1800 1900; Origin: crabbed] 1.) a sea animal with a hard shell, five legs on each side, and two large ↑claws →↑crustacean 2.) [U] the flesh of this animal that you can cook and… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • crab´bi|ly — crab|by «KRAB ee», adjective, bi|er, bi|est. Informal. cross, peevish, or ill natured; crabbed: »He is brought up under the…Puritan maxims of a crabby maiden aunt (Time). –crab´bi|ly, adverb. –crab´bi|ness, noun …   Useful english dictionary

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