Where does “cangrexu” come from?
cangrexu (Asturian) comes from Spanish cangrejo, from Old Spanish cangro, from Latin cancer, from Proto-Italic kankros, from Proto-Italic karkros, from Proto-Indo-European kr̥-kr̥-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker-, from Proto-Indo-European sek- — to cut, cut off, sever.
cangrexu (Asturian): crab
Ancestry of “cangrexu”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | cangrejo | crab |
| 2 | Old Spanish | cangro | — |
| 3 | Latin | cancer | a crab; a tumor, cancer; a lattice, grid, or... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | kankros | crab |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | karkros | enclosure, barrier |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥-kr̥- | circular |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ker- | to cut off; to turn, bend |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |