Where does “crabbed” come from?
Crabbed comes from Middle English crabbed, formed by adding the Middle English suffix -ed to an Old English adjective derived from Proto-Germanic -ōdaz and ultimately Proto-Indo-European grobʰ-.
crabbed (English): Bad-tempered or cantankerous; Cramped, bent;...
Definitions
- Bad-tempered or cantankerous; Cramped, bent;...
Ancestry of “crabbed”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | crabbed | immoral, backwards, savage, rapacious; crabbed,... |
| 2 | Middle English | crabbe | crab; A crayfish, lobster or similar crustacean;... |
| 3 | Old English | crabba | crab; crayfish |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | krabbō | crab |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | krabbô | crab |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | krabbōną | to scratch, scrape |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gerbʰ- | to carve |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |