crab
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɹæb/
enpr: krăb
rhymes: -æb
Forms: form: crabs
Etymology: From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ-. More at carve.
Cognates
See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba.
Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”) etc.
Other origins have also been suggested, see Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos) (regarding the possibility of a substrate origin) and Persian خرچنگ (regarding possible ideophonic origin); compare also Old Armenian քարբ (kʻarb), German Krebs.
Senses: glosses: Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
examples: text: But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.
ref: 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
glosses: The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.
examples: text: Despite its name, the hermit crab is not a true crab!
glosses: Various other animals that resemble true crabs:
Any of various crustacean in the infraorder Anomura, usually excluding squat lobsters.
glosses: Various other animals that resemble true crabs:
A horseshoe crab.
examples: text: She so obviously enjoyed every second of the concert that only the most stubborn crab could not have been warmed by her charm.
ref: 1983 April 30, Sue Hyde, “Expanding Worldviews”, in Gay Community News, page 12:
glosses: A bad-tempered person.
examples: text: Although crabs themselves are an easily treated inconvenience, the patient and his partner(s) clearly run major STD risks.
qualifier: in plural crabs
glosses: An infestation of pubic lice (Pthirus pubis).
examples: text: The pilot had to hold fifteen degrees of crab during the approach to keep her plane from getting blown off the localizer course.
topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: The angle by which an aircraft's nose is pointed upwind of its groundtrack to compensate for crosswinds during an approach to landing; its crab angle.
topics: card-games
poker
glosses: A playing card with the rank of three.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
rowing
sports
glosses: A position in rowing where the oar is pushed under the rigger by the force of the water.
examples: text: -- "I suppose you wouldn't like to do a locum for a month on the South coast? Three guineas a week with board and lodging." -- "I wouldn't mind," said Philip. -- "It's at Farnley, in Dorsetshire. Doctor South. You'd have to go down at once; his assistant has developed mumps. I believe it's a very pleasant place." There was something in the secretary's manner that puzzled Philip. It was a little doubtful. -- "What's the crab in it?" he asked.
ref: 1915, W.S. Maugham, “chapter 116”, in Of Human Bondage:
text: Arrested by the low price of another “desirable residence”, I asked “What's the crab?” The agent assured me that there was no crab. I fell in love with this house at sight. Happily, I discovered that it was reputed to be haunted.
ref: 1940, Horace Annesley Vachell, Little Tyrannies:
glosses: A defect in an outwardly normal object that may render it inconvenient and troublesome to use.
examples: text: […] the unsold copies may be returned to the original publisher , at a period fixed upon between Christmas and Easter; these returned copies are technically called krebse or crabs, probably, from their walking backwards. […] A says to B, "I have had eight thousand dollars' worth of your publications, three thousand were crabs, that makes five thousand."
ref: 1844, Albert Henry Payne, Payne's universum, or pictorial world, page 99:
text: […] unsold copies and settling the yearly accounts; while for the publisher begins the much dreaded season of "crabs," as […]
ref: 1892, The Publishers Weekly, volume 41, page 709:
glosses: An unsold book that is returned to the publisher.
Derived terms: taxonomic: Lithodes aequispinus
word: Alaska crab
word: anticrab
word: applecrab
taxonomic: Stenorhynchus seticornis
word: arrow crab
word: Asian blue crab
word: Atlantic ghost crab
taxonomic: Scylla serrata
word: black crab
word: black finger crab
taxonomic: Callinectes sapidus
word: blue crab
taxonomic: Portunus armatus
word: blue swimmer crab
word: book-crab
word: Boston crab
taxonomic: Calappa spp.
word: box crab
word: brown box crab
word: brown crab
word: butterfly crab
word: calling crab
word: catch a crab
word: chili crab
word: chilli crab
taxonomic: Malus spp.
word: Chinese crab
taxonomic: Eriocheir sinensis
word: Chinese mitten crab
word: Christmas Island red crab
taxonomic: Atelecyclus rotundatus
word: circular crab
taxonomic: Birgus latro
word: coconut crab
word: come off crabs
word: crab angle
word: crabbed
word: crabber
word: crabbery
word: crabbing
word: crabbish
word: crab boil
word: crab bucket syndrome
word: crab burger
word: crabburger
word: crabby
english: Schlumbergera
translation: Schlumbergera
word: crab cactus
word: crab cake
word: crab canon
word: crab-canon
word: crab-catcher
word: crab-claw
word: crab claw
word: crabcore
word: crab dolly
word: crabeater
word: crab-eater
word: crab-eater seal
word: crab-eating
word: crab-eating fox
word: crab-eating frog
word: crab-eating macaque
word: crab-eating raccoon
word: crab-eating rat
word: crab-eating zorro
word: crab face
word: crab-face
word: crab-faced
word: crabfaced
word: crab-farming
word: crab-favored
word: crab-favoured
word: crabfish
english: Cancer major
translation: Cancer major
word: crab-fish
word: crab football
word: crab fork
word: crab-grass
taxonomic: Digitaria spp.
word: crabgrass
word: crab-harrow
word: crabhole
word: crab-hole
word: crab-holed
word: crab lantern
word: crabless
word: crablet
word: crab-like
word: crablike
word: crabling
word: crab-lobster
word: crab Louie
word: crab Louis
word: crab louse
taxonomic: Pthirus pubis
word: crab-louse
word: crab market
word: crabmeat
word: crab meat
word: crab mentality
word: Crab Nebula
word: crabocado
word: crabologist
word: crab plover
word: crab-pot
word: crab-pot valve
word: crab puff
word: crab rangoon
word: crab rock
word: crab-roller
word: crab's claw
word: crab sex
word: crab's eye
taxonomic: Abrus precatorius
word: crab's-eye
word: crab-shell
word: crabshell
word: crab-sidle
word: crab-snouted
word: crab soccer
word: crab spider
taxonomic: Thomisidae spp.
word: crab-spider
word: crab-step
word: crab stick
word: crab-stone
word: crabstone
word: crabwalk
word: crab-weed
word: crabwise
word: crab yaws
word: crack crab
word: cut a crab
word: decorator crab
word: decrab
word: Diogenes crab
word: Dolly Varden crab
taxonomic: Metacarcinus magister
word: Dungeness crab
word: edible crab
word: fast crab
taxonomic: Uca spp.
word: fiddler crab
taxonomic: Portunus pelagicus
word: flower crab
word: gazami crab
english: Ocypode
translation: Ocypode
word: ghost crab
word: giant hermit crab
word: giant mud crab
word: glass-crab
word: golden crab
taxonomic: Carcinus maenas
word: green crab
taxonomic: Gecarcinus quadratus
word: Halloween crab
word: hard-shell crab
word: helmet crab
taxonomic: Paguroidea spp.
word: hermit crab
word: Hoff crab
word: horse crab
taxonomic: Limulus spp.
word: horseshoe crab
word: Iowa crab
word: Japanese crab
taxonomic: Cancer borealis
word: Jonah crab
word: king crab
taxonomic: Lithodidae spp.
word: king-crab
taxonomic: Ovalipes ocellatus
word: lady crab
word: land crab
taxonomic: Gecarcinidae spp.
word: land-crab
taxonomic: Scylla serrata
word: mangrove crab
taxonomic: Squilla spp.
word: mantis crab
taxonomic: Corystes cassivelaunus
word: masked crab
word: masking crab
taxonomic: Hippoidea spp.
word: mole crab
word: moss crab
word: mouthless crab
word: mud crab
word: nobody crab
taxonomic: Pycnogonidae spp.
word: no-body crab
alt: Zaops ostreus
word: oyster crab
word: paddyfields crab
taxonomic: Birgus latro
word: palm crab
word: Parkman crab
word: paxillose crab
word: pea crab
english: Pinnotheres
translation: Pinnotheres
word: pea-crab
word: pole-crab
taxonomic: Porcellanidae spp.
word: porcelain crab
word: porcupine crab
alt: Persephona spp.
word: purse crab
word: purser's crabs
word: pusser's crabs
taxonomic: Ocypodidae spp.
word: racing crab
word: red crab
word: reef crab
taxonomic: Eriocheir sinensis
word: river crab
taxonomic: Birgus latro
word: robber crab
word: rock crab
taxonomic: Atelecyclus rotundatus
word: round crab
word: rubble crab
taxonomic: Hippoidea spp.
word: sand crab
word: scavenger crab
word: sea crab
english: Macrophthalmus
translation: Macrophthalmus
word: sentinel crab
word: shamefaced crab
taxonomic: Calappa spp.
word: shame-faced crab
word: Shanghai hairy crab
word: she-crab
word: sheep crab
word: shellback crab
word: shore crab
taxonomic: Carcinus maenas
word: shore-crab
word: sleepy crab
word: snow crab
word: soft-shell crab
word: soldier crab
word: soldier-crab
word: spanner crab
word: spider crab
taxonomic: Majoidea spp.
word: spider-crab
word: sponge crab
taxonomic: Palicidae spp.
word: stilt crab
alt: Menippe mercenaria et al.
word: stone crab
taxonomic: Neoliomera pubescens
word: strawberry crab
taxonomic: Portunidae spp.
word: swimming crab
alt: Pseudocarcinus gigas
word: Tasmanian giant crab
word: thinstripe hermit crab
taxonomic: Thia scutellata
word: thumbnail crab
taxonomic: Coenobita clypeatus
word: tree crab
word: troll crab
word: tuna crab
word: turn out crabs
taxonomic: Geosesarma spp.
word: vampire crab
taxonomic: Necora puber
word: velvet crab
word: werecrab
word: white crab
word: yellowline arrow crab
word: yeti crab