Crab
/kræb/noun
A decapod crustacean with a broad shell, five pairs of legs, and pincers; also, a person who is ill-tempered or grumpy.
Did you know?Old English *crabba* is the ancestor of modern *crab*, and the word’s history shows how a creature’s sideways movement can become a lasting image for stubborn, pinching, bad-tempered behavior.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gerbh-
“to scratch, carve, or scrape”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*krabô / *krabjô
“a crab or crab-like creature”
Old English
English
crabba
“a crab”
Middle English
English
crabbe
“a crab; also, a gruff or cross person”
Modern English
English
crab
“a crab; a grumpy person; to move or go sideways”