Where does “crab” come from?
crab (English) comes from English carabiner, from German Karabinerhaken, from German Karabiner, from French carabine, from French carabin, from French escarrabin, from Middle French scarabée, from Latin scarabaeus — a kind of beetle, probably a longhorn beetle; a...
crab (English): A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having...
Definitions
- A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having...
Ancestry of “crab”, step by step
crab traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English carabiner
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | carabiner | A metal link with a gate that can open and close,... |
| 2 | German | Karabinerhaken | carabiner, snap hook, snap-link |
| 3 | German | Karabiner | carbine; Karabinerhaken: carabiner |
| 4 | French | carabine | rifle; mistress of a cavalry soldier |
| 5 | French | carabin | carabineer; medical student |
| 6 | French | escarrabin | grave digger |
| 7 | Middle French | scarabée | beetle |
| 8 | Latin | scarabaeus | A scarab, black dung beetle, revered in Ancient... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | κάραβος | a kind of beetle, probably a longhorn beetle; a... |
via Middle English crabbe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | crabbe | crab; A crayfish, lobster or similar crustacean;... |
| 2 | Old English | crabba | crab; crayfish |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | krabbō | crab |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | krabbô | crab |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | krabbōną | to scratch, scrape |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gerbʰ- | to carve |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |